Cynical
Sep 25th 2008Bull MoosePolitics
I’m pretty sure the answer to this latest financial hiccup isn’t a $700 billion bailout. On the other hand, I’m also pretty sure it isn’t doing absolutely nothing.
What I am sure of is that whatever Congress and the President comes up with will be the wrong thing.
JP Morgan Chase just snapped up a bargain. Bank of America has been cleaning up grabbing Countrywide and Merrill Lynch. Maybe we let these big, dumb banks fail and not charge taxes on the capital gains anyone buying their loans make on the risk outlay.
I know trying some free market capitalism in this country is a shocking idea these days, but I think we should give it a whril.
6 Comments »
Nick on 26 Sep 2008 at 6:13 am #
What in the world are you talking about! Free Market Capitalism is what got us into this mess in the first place! Financial hiccup? The patient broke his spine and will need months and months of physical therapy to even walk right again!
I am no financial expert, but even I can see that all of this simply isn’t some hiccup and that free market capitalism enabled these greedy people to gain enough influence where we have to save them or else. This is not just a few greedy people either, these are systemic problems.
I know you’re a fan of the free market, but hasn’t this recent crisis tempered that at all?
Bull Moose on 26 Sep 2008 at 6:54 am #
“Free Market Capitalism is what got us into this mess in the first place!”
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!! Whoooooo….. You think that was the free market. Man that’s rich.
Thanks for the good laugh.
Nick on 26 Sep 2008 at 7:27 am #
So what do you really think free market capitalism is then? Yes I think that the free market helped cause this… how is this new or funny? Do you have some fancy definition for the word that makes my suggestion hilarious?
Bull Moose on 26 Sep 2008 at 8:50 am #
The Communuity Reinvestment Act =/ free market capitalism.
The free market helped cause this, but if it had been truly free market the banks making the bad loans and the IBs buying the bonds would have been punished per the normal risk vs. reward paradigm, not every taxpayer in America. The government (GSEs) needed to get involved to really screw things up.
And even still, there are a lot of examples of banks that restrained themselves and are now cleaning up. There is something like $4 trillion in secondary IBs and banks. Let those companies swoop in and buy investments out at a discount and make them tax free. Maybe we can keep the taxpayer loss to a minimum.
Roguepolymath on 27 Sep 2008 at 9:41 am #
“I know trying some free market capitalism in this country is a shocking idea these days, but I think we should give it a whril.”
Now that’s ‘change we need.’
zxseven on 29 Sep 2008 at 11:25 am #
I heard the other day that back in early 2000’s, some banking laws were change basicly forcing lending institutions to make higher risk loans becuase the govenment interpreted certain banking practices as discrimanatory. Now the banks that are in trouble are the ones that pulled out all the stops and thought all those high risk loans were a good idea. Let the market correct itself, hold the executives liable for all the retirment funds that are going to be wipped out because of their bad policy decisions.
Probably overly simplified, but it sounds good.