From: Here and Now. ... To: Wherever and Whenever.
Monday, March 23, 2009
The Big Takeover
I was going to write something about the economic meltdown but it's probably better if you just read this article by Matt Tabbi in the upcoming Rolling Stone Magazine.
3 comments:
Anonymous
said...
Interesting article.
I just finished reading Galbraith's classic, The Great Crash, & it's interesting that Galbraith makes the same mistake as this author, which is that companies falter all the time, markets are inherently volatile, and businessmen make mistakes. What distinguishes these everyday mishaps from a Great Depression is that their effect is usually limited. A huge stock market crash & the failure of 1 large company isn't enough to send the economy into a tailspin. Usually when such events precipitate a crash those events are just are just intermediary causes - symptoms, not the disease itself.
& the Machiavellian power goes both ways. When gov't tries to use the business by say increasing loans or altering interest rates, business is going to bite back. What's sorry about the whole situation isn't that these businesses need the bailouts, it's the fed has put itself in a unique position whereby it feels the need to bail them out. & it's not just that the fed has extra $ & feels sorry for them, it's that they've partnered with the banks.
The government has partnered with the banks but the greater interconnectedness of all global financial institutions and the "too big to fail" mindset is driving the rapid disintegration and the rush to bail, respectively.
3 comments:
Interesting article.
I just finished reading Galbraith's classic, The Great Crash, & it's interesting that Galbraith makes the same mistake as this author, which is that companies falter all the time, markets are inherently volatile, and businessmen make mistakes. What distinguishes these everyday mishaps from a Great Depression is that their effect is usually limited. A huge stock market crash & the failure of 1 large company isn't enough to send the economy into a tailspin. Usually when such events precipitate a crash those events are just are just intermediary causes - symptoms, not the disease itself.
& the Machiavellian power goes both ways. When gov't tries to use the business by say increasing loans or altering interest rates, business is going to bite back. What's sorry about the whole situation isn't that these businesses need the bailouts, it's the fed has put itself in a unique position whereby it feels the need to bail them out. & it's not just that the fed has extra $ & feels sorry for them, it's that they've partnered with the banks.
The government has partnered with the banks but the greater interconnectedness of all global financial institutions and the "too big to fail" mindset is driving the rapid disintegration and the rush to bail, respectively.
imagic!
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