AIG's Deep Impact

In February, AIG circulated a report detailing how many people would be affected if the company were to go under. The scare tactic worked. AIG insures 180,000 entities, which collectively employ 106 million people in the U.S. alone. Among the list are tens of thousands of farms, hospitals and nonprofits. Stimulus spending? AIG says it insures every major infrastructure project in America. Retirement savings? The company manages nearly 7 million accounts. AIG itself employs 116,000. Yet a few hundred from its Financial Services division devised the toxic derivatives jeopardizing AIG--and the rest of us.