frogblog » AIG http://blog.greens.org.nz hopping along the corridors of power Fri, 10 Feb 2012 03:50:50 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.3 Giving Companies the Freedom to Dare http://blog.greens.org.nz/2009/07/16/giving-companies-the-freedom-to-dare/ http://blog.greens.org.nz/2009/07/16/giving-companies-the-freedom-to-dare/#comments Wed, 15 Jul 2009 21:27:11 +0000 frog http://blog.greens.org.nz/?p=5249 Here’s an AIG commercial that, with hindsight, just drips with delicious irony. For the record: AIG posted one of biggest losses ever in corporate history last year and have since received $US182 billion in bail-out money from the US taxpayer.

aig

]]> http://blog.greens.org.nz/2009/07/16/giving-companies-the-freedom-to-dare/feed/ 6 Wall Street socialism http://blog.greens.org.nz/2008/09/24/wall-street-socialism/ http://blog.greens.org.nz/2008/09/24/wall-street-socialism/#comments Tue, 23 Sep 2008 22:24:39 +0000 frog http://blog.greens.org.nz/2008/09/24/wall-street-socialism/ SolveClimate.com is asking why the American government will step to in to nationalise failing companies like AIG, but it won’t buy profitable companies before they go belly up?  And it’s got a suggestion.  Why not buy ExxonMobil? (After all it worked for Hugo Chavez!)

In the current crisis in the financial markets, even free market enthusiasts have had to recognize the string of bailouts and interventions in the financial sector for what it is, “Wall Street socialism.” We’re already in for a really, really big dime, let us taxpayers make some windfall money for a change.

And then what should we do with one of the world’ worst polluters, once we own it:

Once the company is nationalized, what do we do with it? By referendum or after debate by elected representatives we could liquidate its assets, sell off its chemical division, and its real estate and top off our strategic petroleum reserve, which has a capacity of 727 million barrels. Exxon Mobil’s own worldwide reserves total 1.6 billion. At least, we’d be taking on usable oil, not bad debt.

I can’t see the present US administration taking this course of action, or even the next one, whichever party it may be.  So maybe that leaves the door open for New Zealand to buy ExxonMobil. Could we afford it? Does anyone want to donate some pocket money?

Exxpose Exxon

Image credit: Mister Bisson

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