Why? According to TIME:
“Its collapse would be as close to an extinction-level event as the financial markets have seen since the Great Depression,” wrote money manager Michael Lewitt in Tuesday morning’s New York Times. There’s also the fact that through its insurance policies AIG touches far more regular Americans (and consumers around the world) than Lehman Bros. did.
It astounds me that businesses are aloud to be this toxic and get away with it. There was also this quote:
Plus, AIG’s insurance businesses make so much money that they could conceivably pay off the cost of the bailout within a few years.
What will be interesting for me is whether or not this actually happens. I suspect, instead, that the U.S. taxpayers will get stuck with the bill and then some other company will swoop in and take the assets.
Smart People I Know 