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2009-02-25 Home Front Economy

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Posted by Frozen Al 2009-02-25 12:08|| || Front Page|| [1 views ] Top

#1 Most views of the world--in particular the views of Democrats--rely upon a static analysis of that world. Then they only look at one variable at a time. It's easy, then, to predict how changes in law will effect the economy.

But money is a slippery devil. It never seems to go where "it should." Failure to understand the math seems to be the biggest deficit in Washington. Dynamic models are hard, but they are better. (Most of the time.)

Posted by OregonGuy">OregonGuy 2009-02-25 12:48|| http://oregonguythinks.blogspot.com/]">[http://oregonguythinks.blogspot.com/] 2009-02-25 12:48|| Front Page Top

#2 Let's see. Any profit from borrowed and leveraged money you keep. When it goes south, the nation's taxpayers pick up the mess. What's not to like, including the view from the Manhattan penthouse?

Posted by ed 2009-02-25 13:14|| 2009-02-25 13:14|| Front Page Top

#3 Greed masks risks. Greed is good. It stimulates productivity. But if it's not tempered by fear, the greedy eventually destroy themselves. Fear is good. It pulls people back from the edge. But unchecked it destroys productivity. It's time for a nap, now. Naps are good...

Posted by Richard of Oregon 2009-02-25 13:23|| 2009-02-25 13:23|| Front Page Top

#4 When that bank blew up in the late '90's (BCI or some such...the mind is a terrible thing) that should have been the signal that this crap was too dangerous to play with. Clinton has now said that he should have increased regulation on derivatives at this point and he is right. Bush should have done so when he came into office. Neither party did squat to limit this stuff. As I've said before, it is one thing to make a crappy mortgage loan, but it is another to securitize that loan and creat 50+ obligations based upon it. That was what the geniuses on Wall Street, at the hedge funds and at the big insurance companies did. Too smart for their own good by far.

Posted by remoteman 2009-02-25 13:48|| 2009-02-25 13:48|| Front Page Top

#5 if you have a currency monopoly, you have to regulate credit volume (through changing reserve requirements) as well as interest rates.

Basel 2 FIXED reserve requirements hence the boom in credit.

Posted by Bright Pebbles the flatulent 2009-02-25 17:30|| 2009-02-25 17:30|| Front Page Top

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