As I'm sure you've heard, the House today approved a $700 billion bill to bailout the crippled financial systems. Companies like Lehman Brothers have gone bankrupt, while others, like AIG, have been bailed out by the government. When I think of the millions of dollars that the higher ups at these companies have made, it sickens me that we're coming to their rescue. Exactly who's to blame for this financial crisis? Well, a friend of mine gave me some interesting insight recently.
This friend of mine works in the same building as one of the AIG (American International Group) branches. She said that when they moved into this office buiilding, they installed mahogany walls and ceilings. Pricey. And, she said that every day, they had a chef -- with an authentic tall, white chef's hat-- come to their offices and make them breakfast, lunch and an afternoon snack of wine and cheese. And, he wasn't handing them a stale bagel. He was making pancakes, omelettes, that kind of thing. For lunch? I can only imagine. Can you imagine paying for nice breakfasts and lunches and afternoon snacks for your employees every day?!
This is the kind of excess and waste that is indicative of the greed that is at the heart of the problem, I believe. My friend, who was more than a little aggravated on the day the bailout was announced, said to the building security guard, "AIG didn't have their chef come in today, did they?" He nodded yes. She replied, "That's it. From now on, I'm taking some of those pancakes off of their breakfast cart!" Why not? We're paying for it.
