We Canadians

There  is only one solution for AIG’’s problems - nationalize the company and let the government take  full control. How hard can it be to run an insurance company profitably? It is definitely not rocket science.

Throughout the world, insurance companies make good profits - it is a fail-safe business. Essentially, they just sell insurance; if there are claims, the cost of the insurance policy goes up. How hard can it be to make money in this kind of business?

Insurance companies get into trouble only when the executives get too greedy, like at AIG . The company faced a securities commission investigation into fraud in the mid 2000s. The New York State Attorney General’s investigation led to a 1.6 billion dollar fine in 2005, as well as criminal charges against some company executives.

Currently, tax payers  own 80% of the company. Letting private sector executives run the company is no answer  - it will be just  produce more of the same. Why not simply nationalize and let the government run it  for some time until the current financial crisis blows over? At the very least, it will ensure that no company executive draws a bigger salary than the US President, with far less responsibility.