Who’s Getting A Piece of the $700 Billion Federal Bailout Package?

At lunch today, a few of my friends and I were laughing/crying over the news that AIG executives were recently caught on tape enjoying an almost $350,000 “meeting day” at a luxurious Arizona spa, regardless of whether AIG or its clients were picking up the tab.

This all important sales meeting took place hours after the feds announced AIG was pocketing a $40 billion “emergency” infusion of tax money…our money…from the $700 billion bailout. 

AIG executives are calling the meeting a necessary training tool.

Fine - for the sake of the following paragraph - let’s take them 100% at their word.

It seems odd to me to ask for billions of dollars in tax money to avoid a crisis, then get caught “working hard”, poolside.

You just shouldn’t do it - it looks terrible. Kind of like calling into work sick on a big day, then bumping into your boss at happy hour halfway through your third margarita.

“So boss, how did it go today? Can I buy you a celebratory drink?“

No, it just doesn’t work. Not in the world of most average working people.

That led me to question - who exactly is getting a piece of this $700 billion bailout I’m partially funding since I work and pay taxes? What other federal help ....aka…tax dollar help….are they getting?

Forbes.com has a pretty good answer. Click on the link and check out this article:
http://www.forbes.com/business/2008/11/10/holes-in-tarp-biz-wallst-cx_bwlm_1110bailout.html

In short,
AIG - $153 billion total now, including $40 billion from the $700 billion bailout .

The US Treasury has access to another $250 billion of that $700 billion pot to help troubled banks. This pot of money is called the Capital Purchase Program.

That $250 billion in the Capital Purchase Program is going quickly:
According to Forbes, a handful of large banks, like Bank of America and JP Morgan, have already gotten about half.

44 more banks already have applications in requesting money too - about $47 billion.

Hundreds of other banks are excpected to file requests for the remaining $78 billion.

According to MSNBC, competition to pocket a portion of the bail out is hot: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27373962/.

There is a November 14 deadline for banks to apply for funds, but many expect there will be extensions and exceptions. Now, other companies, including other insurance agencies and many auto makers, are vollying for cash too. 
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE4A96CH20081110?pageNumber=3&virtualBrandChannel=0

This current economy certainly presents a serious problem with potentially catastrophic ramifications.

We definitely need to fix things quickly.

We’re going to need to re-tool our thinking, our oversight and our practices.

I’m not making light of what is no doubt a crisis.

Certainly some companies do need bailout money to get over the hump and keep our economy churning.

Nonetheless, when I read about how many people are lining up with their hands out - or attending spas once they pocket some cash, I can’t help but picture one particular year when we went to the state fair as kids:

My dad was strict - unbelievably in my opinion, especially when I was ten: we worked for our allowances and had to make the money stretch to cover whatever extra curricular activities we wanted to participate in.

We could do extra chores and earn more for dance costumes, softball gloves and cheerleading uniforms, but they were not free. 

When we went to the movies, we stopped at the gas station, bought candy there and smuggled it in via mom’s purse.

One year when we went to the fair, aliens abducted my dad’s brain and he told us he would buy us all the ride tickets we could use.

My sister and I were jumping on and off rides as fast as our legs could go so we could get back to dad and “refill” before the aliens returned his brain.

We had a great night - including non-smuggled cotton candy and popcorn. 

Back then, I often wondered why dad didn’t do that more often.

Dad said he was preparing us to be adults: that money isn’t free, you should spend it carefully, understand how fast is goes and learn how to budget.

He said you can’t always have what you want when you want, that money doesn’t grow on trees.

Wal-Mart jeans will, in fact, do the same job as department store jeans.

In today’s age of $4 a-gallon-gas, rising food prices and statistics showing the average family carries about $8000 in credit card debt, I’m glad Dad took the time and trouble to teach me those lessons.

He died two months after I graduated high school.

Although I thankfully now do wear department store jeans, if he were still here, I would love to tell him, “Dad, you did know what you were talking about after all.“

Unless of course you can figure out a way to qualify for federal bailout money. Then you can go to a ritzy resort, sip fun drinks and brainstorm about how to spend it.