AIG in Ajijic, Lake Chapala, Mexico

AIG, says the President, is in trouble because of recklessness and greed and in no universe should their actions be awarded. This money is coming from the taxpayers who are currently bailing them out so they can continue to help what is being called Main Street.

These actions have been labeled outrageous by Larry Summers, Director of the White House’s National Economic Council for President Obama and AIG has already received 173 billion in US bailout funds making the single largest recipient.

The chairman of AIG, Edward Liddy, is being pressed by the administration to rescind these bonuses and all legal avenues are being explored to stop them from going forward.

The attorney general is asking AIG to supply the administration with a list of who is receiving these bonuses by 4:00 pm today.

AIG is becoming one of the White House’s biggest headaches and allowing it to fail would be catastrophic for the economy because their intricate insurance contracts are inextricably entwined with almost every financial player in the global economy.

It is a very difficult situation as the failure of AIG would cause banks to be on the hook themselves if AIG was not there to back up their bad investments.

The collapse of AIG could spark a worldwide calamity and Edward Liddy is alleging that these people need and are legally entitled to their bonuses or else they (AIG) would have trouble attracting top people.

Nonetheless, President Obama is very angry and will continue to try and stop these “top people” from receiving this 165 million in undeserved bonuses.

Judy Wallis

IMSS vs Private Health Care

A young woman went to a doctor in Chapala and had a sonogram which showed a large cyst on her ovary.

As she had IMSS she contacted them that day, a Wednesday, and was told to go to the Chapala IMSS office to get the proper paperwork at 6:00 am Thursday morning. She did but it took another day to get everything into place and she was to meet the IMSS person on the following Monday. When she met the person on that following Monday she was told they would call her with an appointment asap for Clinic 89 in Guadalajara. The doctor in Chapala had told her that there was a risk of rupture or torsion so speed was of the essence as the ability for her to have children in the future could be at stake which she had told IMSS from the outset.

In the meantime, following the appointment with IMSS on Monday, she sought a second opinion from a recommended private doctor in Guadalajara as she could find nothing about Clinic 89 on the internet which did not give her confidence. She saw the private doctor later that Monday and was given her cell phone number to call day or night. Further tests were done at a wonderful lab in Guadalajara in the evening as this doctor seemed to grasp the urgency of the situation and called the lab to have the tests done at once as the doctor wanted to operate as early as the week-end pending results.

About 11:00 p.m. that same night she was in agony. Fortunately, she had the cell phone number of the private doctor in Guadalajara and was instructed to meet her for emergency surgery at Santa Maria Chapalita Hospital.

At midnight she underwent a 2 hour emergency surgery to remove the ruptured cyst and everything went well.

The hospital were she spent 2 days took wonderful care of her and staff were very kind and considerate. Family members were welcome to stay with her in her room and every consideration was taken for her care and comfort. From the time she arrived at the emergency room to the time she was wheeled and assisted into her car she was treated with caring and respect.

The private doctor kept her very well informed every step of the way and she left the hospital with notes for her medications and care and a follow up appointment.

She is now recovering comfortably at home.

The entire procedure and hospital stay cost under $5,000.00US.

She doesn’t know what would have happened with IMSS because by the time it took her to have all the necessary paperwork in place it would have been too late for a successful surgery.

During the time she was waiting for IMSS to respond to her situation she had communicated with her aunt in the US who is in the medical profession and had sent her an email from a doctor friend of hers giving her all the information on ovarian cysts and all possible treatments and complications. The private doctor in Guadalajara responded perfectly and in total agreement with all the information she had received from her aunt.

So for those of you that think the only solution would be to get to the US or Canada for a medical emergency we now know excellent doctors and hospitals are available right here minutes away from our beautiful village in the sun.