An easy way to understand the AIG Debacle..

Two couples were playing poker one evening. Jim accidentally
dropped some cards on the floor. When he bent down under the
table to pick them up, he noticed Bob's wife, Sue wasn't wearing
any underwear under her dress! Shocked by this, Jim upon trying
to sit back up again, hit his head on the table and emerged
red-faced.
Later, Jim went to the kitchen to get some refreshments.
Bob's wife followed and asked, 'Did you see anything that you
like under there?' Surprised by her boldness, Jim admitted that,
well indeed he did. She said, 'Well, you can have it but it
will cost you £500.' After taking a minute or two to assess the
financial and moral costs of this offer, Jim confirms that he is
interested.
Sue told him that since her husband Bob worked Friday afternoons
and Jim didn't, Jim should be at her house around 2 p.m. Friday
afternoon.
When Friday rolled around, Jim showed up at Bob's house at 2
p.m. sharp and after paying Sue the agreed sum of £500 - they
went to the bedroom and closed their transaction, as agreed. Jim
quickly dressed and left.

As usual, Bob came home from work at 6 p.m. And upon arriving,
asked his wife: 'Did Jim come by the house this afternoon?' With
a lump in her throat Sue answered 'Why yes, he did stop by for a
few minutes this afternoon.' Her heart nearly skipped a beat
when her husband curtly asked, 'And did he give you £500?' Sue,
using her best poker face, replied, 'Well, yes, in fact he did
give me £500.' Bob, with a relieved, satisfied look on his face,
surprised his wife by saying, 'He came by the office this
morning and borrowed £500 from me. He promised he'd stop by our
house this afternoon on his way home and pay the money back..
' As applied to the current financial crisis, the characters in
the above story are represented as follows:
Jim
= Goldman Sachs
Bob
= AIG
Sue
= US taxpayer



posted by Peter Greene