PARDON SIR, WE WANT SOME MORE

Well whattaya know? Seems that AIG is asking the U.S. government for more money. (H/T CunningRealist)

(Cause that first $122.5 billion wasn't quite enough.)

Let's all let fly with the standard stuff, shall we: out-rageous! Un-be-lievable! The nerve of those guys! Blah, blah, blah, and some blahddy blah blah.

But you know what? They're gonna get it! If they were "too big to fail" last month, and the "largest insurer in the universe is too important to let die" and all that jazz, what's changed?

You know what else is gonna happen? Sometime between now and January 20 when Paulson steps down -- and Obama replaces him with some other entrenched Wall St. guy at Treasury -- he's heading back to Capitol Hill to ask for more money that the banks can horde. And use for executive bonuses. And distribute as dividends to their shareholders.

And in the unlikely event that it doesn't come to pass, the new guy can ask on his own. Afterall, the new guy's boss voted for the first bailout, right?

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***UPDATE*** Well that didn't take too long, did it?

Reduction of the previous $85 billion loan to $60 billion. But replacing the prior $37.8 billion loan with a $52 billion float. A new $40 billion, with some debt-for-equity particulars. Hmmm.

So it's about $150 biilion for AIG now. How long til they come back for bite number 3? Any predictions? I say next April . . . late April. After Uncle Sam soaks us for the bill on the 15th. And well before the massive inflation all this crap will engender starts to kick in full force.

Only question is, of course, when does Treasury crawl up to Capitol Hill for its second course? Mmmmm good, people. The feeding trough is open and slop's being served!