Depending on where you stand, the financial crisis has been catastrophic or brought a much needed shake out in the financial sector; it has been disastrous for home owners or proved the folly of lending to people with poor credit histories; it has rightly rolled back the clock on naked capitalism or undermined a system that, in essence, functions perfectly well; it has punished bankers’ hubris or thrown many talented individuals out of work.
What you see depends on where you stand.
According to Italy’s economy minister, Giulio Tremonti, the current economic crisis was the inevitable consequence of policies championed by former Federal Reserve chief Alan Greenspan.
“The mastery turned out to be madness. Alan Greenspan was considered a master. Now it should be asked whether, after Bin Laden, is it not he who has done the most harm to America?”, Tremonti was quoted as saying in an interview with Corriere della Sera newspaper this week.
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal in April, Greenspan hit back at his detractors. “I was praised for things I didn’t do,” he said. “I am now being blamed for things that I didn’t do.”
The debate over what happened and why, who is to blame and where we go from here has sent bloggers and columnists into overdrive. Here are links to some on the UK economy, the Paulson doctrine and AIG and Lehman. There is an argument that the United States’ response to the crisis is evidence of its waning financial power.
Who has got it right?
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38 comments so far
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we are all worried about money but i have a good idea. why dont we take 350million dollars of the bail out money and give every american a milion dolars and give the rest to the bail out that way when it fails again we really will be safe, its our money any way.
- Posted by connieLet the system crash. Let them throw their gold and money into the streets. Soon! Nothing will be worth anything anymore.
- Posted by RobertAnd if you think gold is safe, the time is coming when that will be confiscated by our Government for more war.
For $700 billion dollars, each and every man, woman and child in the United States, legal and otherwise, could be given $1 million dollars each and pay off their own damn mortgages. That’s what - $500 million dollars more or less? Then the rest of the money could be used to bail out these corporations from their criminally negligent behaviors.
The credit default swaps, derivative instruments can be nullified and made illegal where the losses would be spread across those foolish enough to have bought them, traded in them and used them as an asset class. The defaulted mortgages already foreclosed are covered by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as well as by the “housing bill” already passed and the US Treasury could go back to doing the more sane things they are qualified to do.
These options do not destroy the foundations of our economic system in principle the way that nationalizing a publicly traded insurance company, AIG has done. They are cheaper in the short term and in the long run as well. They make better sense and overall, shore up our democratic representative republic instead of decimating it as their proposal will do.
The time to fear a market collapse has passed. The confidence game is over. This opportunity for change will not wait for the new president to pick out the drapes to be resolved sometime next year. But, since the government believes it is well within their sense of normalcy to spend another trillion plus dollars - they may as well give everyone whose feet are standing in this country, a million dollars each to solve the problem where they stand. At least something would get done.
Written by Cricket Diane C “Sparky” Phillips, 09-21-08, USA
- Posted by cricketdianeThe dollar is devaluing everyday that another is printed. The government needs reform of the banking system. Face it, The average family doesn’t make enough money to pay monthly bills, they used their credit cards to get through, then they used home equity loans to pay their credit cards, now they are declaring bankruptcy. Isn’t it obvious?? The high interest rates of credit are demolishing the lives of citizens and families, our children and their values and hopes for life. Stop the maddness: We need back Usury laws and banking regulation, Fair and definitely Higher wages for citizens, Universal health care, and companies and jobs come back to America or face penalties and tariffs, perhaps loss of Americas finance and protection….. We are America and Americans need to protect their own, My children and Yours AMEN
- Posted by Darla TeschI guess if your standing at a cookout in the backyard of the Rothchilds it doesn’t seem too bad. Love the headline.
- Posted by jasonThis general bail out as every other bailouts before this will just postpone the problem with one month or two maximum, but this will depend on the consumption rate by big financial markets or the demand.
Every time we injects easy money they just go as easy as they were produced and create even a bigger and scary crisis to come.
S.O.S we are going down..
- Posted by donicheck Halliburton stocks.
- Posted by ddalijaIf this doesn’t get the average working American (whose earnings are plundered to save the rich brads) into the street demonstrating, well, then nothing ever will - and in that case they SHOULD fork over their savings to the rich and incompetent.
- Posted by Alexthe economy will be better off bailing the failing company devoured by their greed after they have abandoned and released all their assets to shore up the company that they built safeguarded by the government. The people of this great nation excluding the rich and powerful will again bail out this great nation the the social class will spread even further as we put these debt to our children. The executives, rich, and the government have seen this coming since the war bill was passed putting in $450 billion to the war and it has been 6 years from the start of the war totaling $2.7 Trillion spent on war. The war is a major factor deregulating the credit worthiness of banks to shore financial fortitude to support the war. During this election, taxpayers are again put on the pedestal as the saving grace of this country as our financial institution rise and spin to profit from this sweeping decision to rescue them after they have pocketed the profits. The vicious cycle to end the war and have no place to put the $450 Billion was carefully planned to use to give it to the rich.
- Posted by ddalijalet the banks collapse
- Posted by GrandpaLet the banks collapse.
- Posted by Grandpalet the markets collapse. Why should we the people pay the banker’s bills ?
- Posted by GrandpaLet the markets collapse.
- Posted by GrandpaLet the markets collapse. Don’t load my grandkids with these bogus debts.
- Posted by GrandpaThe bankers want to skate and load my grandkids with their debts. We know the game. The “Fed” will pump billions of bucks into the system and collapse the dollar -we know that too. Let things collapse now. It’ll only get more painful if we wait.
- Posted by GrandpaSo now the Republicans clamor for government regulation, government intervention, now after years of supply side flim flam shoving billions of dollars into the pockets of the wealthy on the hopes they would have pity on the American worker, forgo their predatory worldwide profit hunt and create some jobs here in the U.S. Well they haven’t seen fit to do that but supply side theory makes no demand on them (Let the markets decide!)only on the taxpayers, the working stiff. So now we see the real truth of privatizing profits and socializing risks. Ante up, taxpayers, don’t want any of those Wall Street CEO’s to miss their million dollar paydays.
- Posted by Bob MaloneLet me make sure I understand current events. The doubling and tripling of home values, easy credit and bad mortgages, which has repeatedly been blamed for the credit crunch, is now my responsibility to make good on. I run a small business which has had layoffs and severe cutbacks to keep business going. My customers are also suffering and on average have laid off ½ their employees due to current economic woes. So, even though I didn’t jump on the high stakes band wagon; I’m responsible for the decision makers who live in their mansions in Greenwich, Connecticut and elsewhere? Is this correct?
- Posted by RonPlease, this has to be the most insidious moment in politics, you need to report or ask better questions. Wall Street is being bailed out by Washington, so LAS VEGAS, NV realtors and investors are not hurt by their actions/risks, what?!? And the tax payer gets the bill. What stays in VEGAS doesn’t or didn’t after this FED WEEKEND, it smells bad and it needs to be reported. Are we seriously wrapping this up as a contention for business and conditions to improve our economy?
Research the prices of Las Vegas and other parts of this country under real property, tell me we are not only bailing out local politics, politicians, investors, and their financial institutions. Holding up their inflated lifestyles with tax dollars? Please.
I believe you have been smoothed-over on this subject. So the property-taxes will be paid by the Government bailout to escrow the loans paid by the Government bailout, who is printing this money : ) I believe it is time for the wall street segments to drop their lifestyles down a world notch to that of at least Africa standards until they rethink their business plan.
- Posted by Stewart Gwyn