maybe gw could bail ya out

STEVENS POINT, Wis., June 6 /PRNewswire/ -- AIG Travel Guard employees
celebrated the official groundbreaking of their new worldwide headquarters
this morning and were joined by a number of local Stevens Point and Portage
County leaders, as well as executives from AIG's New York headquarters.  The
ceremony marked the official start of construction on the new 125,000
square-foot AIG Travel Guard world headquarters building, located in the
Northeast corner of Interstate 39 and County Highway HH intersection.
    The new building will house over 750 current and future AIG Travel Guard
employees from Stevens Point and surrounding areas.  "We are very, very proud
to be part of this wonderful organization," said John Noel, CEO of AIG Travel
Guard.  "And we are very proud that AIG is investing in our company and our
community.  AIG appreciates the quality, professionalism and enthusiasm of the
AIG Travel Guard employees we have here.  That's why we are breaking ground
for a new headquarters right here in Stevens Point, Wisconsin."
Steve Gold, President and Chief Executive Officer, AIG Accident & Health,
said that AIG Travel Guard, "has built an impressive reputation for customer
service."  He added that the new building, "will support not only the growing
business of AIG Travel Guard, but will also provide critical support for other
AIG operations throughout the world."
    In addition to the traditional groundbreaking with shovels, a time capsule
containing historic Travel Guard mementos was presented for the building's
cornerstone.
    Construction on AIG Travel Guard's world headquarters is scheduled for
completion in June 2009.  The building is being designed to be an
environmentally responsible and healthy place to work.
    "The building will incorporate many sustainable elements designed to
minimize environmental impact, and reduce the depletion of resources including
energy, water and raw materials," explained Jeff Rutledge, President, AIG
Travel, Inc. "We will be good stewards of the environment and follow strict
guidelines to ensure that our new building receives LEED certification."  The
LEED(R) (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Green Building Rating
System is the U.S. Green Building Council's national standard for developing
high-performance, sustainable buildings.
    TOLD Development, a Midwest firm that developed the Crossroads Commons
Retail Center, located at the southeast quadrant of I39 and CTH HH in Plover
will construct and own the facility.  Local company, Ellis Stone Construction,
will provide design, construction management and general construction services
for the project.
    AIG Travel Guard is one of America's leading providers of travel insurance
plans for more than 6 million travelers each year. Travel insurance plans
through AIG Travel Guard are distributed by more than 12,000 travel agents
across the United States.
    AIG Travel Guard is a wholly owned subsidiary of AIG Travel, Inc., a
member company of American International Group, Inc. (AIG). American
International Group, Inc. (AIG), a world leader in insurance and financial
services, is the leading international insurance organization with operations
in more than 130 countries and jurisdictions.  AIG companies serve commercial,
institutional and individual customers through the most extensive worldwide
property-casualty and life insurance networks of any insurer.  In addition,
AIG companies are leading providers of retirement services, financial services
and asset management around the world.  AIG's common stock is listed on the
New York Stock Exchange, as well as the stock exchanges in Paris and Tokyo.

“The credit crunch and foreclosure problems are failures of government policy. In fact, what we see now is a market correction to foolhardy government policy. Congress’ move to bailout lenders and borrowers who made poor decisions will simply create incentives for people to make unwise decisions in the future.” —Walter Williams

“[Barack] Obama... blamed the shocking new round of subprime-related bankruptcies on the free-market system, and specifically the ‘trickle-down’ economics of the Bush administration, which he tried to gig opponent John McCain for wanting to extend. But it was the Clinton administration, obsessed with multiculturalism, that dictated where mortgage lenders could lend, and originally helped create the market for the high-risk subprime loans now infecting like a retrovirus the balance sheets of many of Wall Street’s most revered institutions. Tough new regulations forced lenders into high-risk areas where they had no choice but to lower lending standards to make the loans that sound business practices had previously guarded against making. It was either that or face stiff government penalties. The untold story in this whole national crisis is that President Clinton put on steroids the Community Redevelopment Act, a well-intended Carter-era law designed to encourage minority homeownership. And in so doing, he helped create the market for the risky subprime loans that he and Democrats now decry as not only greedy but ‘predatory.’ Yes, the market was fueled by greed and overleveraging in the secondary market for subprimes, vis-a-vis mortgaged-backed securities traded on Wall Street. But the seed was planted in the ‘90s by Clinton and his social engineers.” —Investor’s Business Daily