AIG: More Evidence Congress doesn't know what it's Doing

Hank Greenberg was forced out as AIG CEO in March 2005. Yet members of congress still push to blame him for events taking place during four years after that. Greenberg led AIG to great success for 38 years. So what happened? Congress won't know, because it can't understand the workings of business. This is evident in their questioning; they're more focused on blame than on understanding. But for sure, they'll find some slob to blame. And voters will believe them.

No wonder congress hates Greenberg; he's been very critical of the AIG bailout, saying it should be restructured rather than allowed to continue with federal money. In other words, the former CEO of the world's largest insurer, a man with a lifetime of experience in the industry, thinks conress's actions were wrong, and a useless waste.

Pity the fool.

AIG Rescue Has Failed, Greenberg Tells Lawmakers - WSJ.com:

Rep. Elijah Cummings (D., Md.) was more direct, asking Mr. Greenberg during a heated exchange, "Do you take any responsibility at all?"

Mr. Greenberg, accompanied by high-profile attorney David Boies, refused to accept any blame.

"No I don't," Mr. Greenberg said, referring to subsequent losses at the financial-products division and downgrades of AIG's ratings. He said the management that took over when he left the firm "must have paid very little attention" to the growing problems that led to the firm's demise.

Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R., Utah) was involved in a heated exchange with Mr. Greenberg over the number of AIG shares he still owns and whether he should use the proceeds of any stock sales to help pay back what the company owes the government.

"Would you be willing to give this money back to go back to the taxpayers?" Mr. Chaffetz asked.

Greenberg appeared annoyed by the question.

"Why would it go back to the taxpayers?" Mr. Greenberg said. "You go out in the street and start collecting from them."

Additionally, Mr. Greenberg said billions in government funds should not have been paid to AIG's counterparties; giving other financial firms guarantees would've been a better option.

"These cash payments to [credit-default swap] counterparties should never have occurred," Mr. Greenberg said. "It would have been more beneficial for the American taxpayer if the federal government had walled off AIG Financial Products...and provided guarantees to AIGFP's counterparties rather than putting up billions of dollars in cash collateral to those counterparties.

..."I don't feel any responsibility at all" for AIG's problems, Mr. Greenberg said in an interview Wednesday. "How can I be responsible for something that occurred when I'm not there?""