"The government has been saying, ‘We’re your friend, we owned and controlled you and we let you go.’..."

““The government has been saying, ‘We’re your friend, we owned and controlled you and we let you go.’ But A.I.G. doesn’t owe loyalty to the government,” a person close to Mr. Greenberg said. “It owes loyalty to its shareholders.””

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Rescued by a Bailout, A.I.G. May Sue Its Savior - NYTimes.com

This explains everything you need to know about our economic problems in 3 sentences. (Note: you can substitute just “the government” with  just about anything.)