I never thought I would see the day when AIG was in such dire financial trouble it would beg Uncle Sam for a federal bailout. Then again, I never thought I would see the day when its iconic leader, Hank Greenberg, would be pushed out the door in the wake of a balance sheet scandal.

Thus far, AIG has survived the realization of both "Doomsday" scenarios, thanks most recently to a massive Federal Reserve loan.

What happens now? Assets will be sold to repay the loan. Will enough cash be generated to get the job done in what in effect will be a fire sale? Will AIG be able to reassure risk managers whose commercial insurance policies with the carrier are up for renewal on Jan. 1? Stay tuned!

For the moment, AIG is the latest beneficiary of the "It's too big to fail" mantra. Of course, I am glad AIG was not allowed to collapse into bankruptcy, which would have sent shock waves through an already weakened economy, costing more people their jobs and battering the stock portfolios of average Americans even worse than the hammering they are taking now.

But it does make you wonder about the "hands-off" credo of those who oppose government regulation, arguing that the free market will always do what's best for all--if it is just left alone. Those who've been slapped silly by the market's "invisible hand" might beg to differ.

Whatever happened to the "Ownership Society" and culture of "personal responsibility" touted by Republican leaders? It seems that for corporate entities in big enough trouble, socialism--not capitalism--ultimately rules the day.

When I expressed dismay in my blog at the very idea an industry behemoth like AIG could be in this much trouble, "Chris M." posted the following question: "Was the Titanic too big to sink?"

Obviously not, but luckily for AIG, once this giant steamer hit the subprime iceberg, there was a rescue vessel--the Federal Reserve--ready, willing and able to keep the sinking ship afloat.

Those who are losing their houses and jobs in this recession--while many more endure the plummeting value of their homes and 401k plans--are not so lucky. AIG is secure--for the moment--but the rest of us are clearly on our own.

Thus, while federal and state regulators scrambled frantically last week to keep AIG from collapsing into bankruptcy, I couldn't help but wonder whether there would be any accountability for the risky investments and underwriting decisions that put the industry's biggest player--and so many who did business with the mega-carrier--into this precarious position in the first place.

Another regular respondent to my blog, "Mikk," suggested that Mr. Greenberg's loss of billions in wealth as his AIG stock plunged to penny status was accountability of a sort. But I am more concerned right now about the front end--making sure someone representing the public is watching the store to make sure nothing like this happens again.

I'm not optimistic we won't see more such financial sector meltdowns as history repeats itself. The Onion, a weekly "newspaper" for which every day is April Fool's, had me in stitches with its recent story: "Recession-Plagued Nation Demands New Bubble To Invest In," with one suggestion being "illegal alien futures."

The only problem is, as with all good humor, this joke rang too true, especially after seeing how the colossal failures in judgment by major players like AIG are destroying my retirement accounts.

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