Yeah. I've been watching this unroll. Though to my shock and horror, I've actually been seeing some of Rand's villains showing up in Washington whining for their bailouts ... I had dismissed her as over-the-top and preachy and impractical for decades!
http://idiotgrrl.livejournal.com/ > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > To: brin-l@mccmedia.com > Subject: Financial institution fallout > Date: Sat, 6 Dec 2008 23:51:20 -0600 > > I saw an interesting article from the bastion of free enterprise > publication, the WSJ, at > > http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122852289752684407.html > > > It has some interesting analysis....and it doesn't seem good. > > What I find interesting is that it seems to be a balanced analysis, not a > polemic for letting the markets decide everything. My feeling is that > everyone but those who believe than Atlas Shrugged is the greatest work of > philosophy, literature, and economics ever, have been badly shaken by how > the market failed. It's not that government was blameless, but they didn't > force the 5 investment banking institutions and the biggest insurance > company in the world to make the decisions they did. The implications of > this article are quite sobering. > > I don't have time, alas, for an analysis for the list, based on what I read > and discussed, but I'll mention one factor here. Fund managers who played > things properly, who bet that real estate would not go up forever, quickly > found themselves having to explain to their clients year after year after > year why they didn't invest in AAA assets. It's like refusing a betting > scheme based on there never ever being a straight flush in poker. It > usually works, and the person who refuses to get in looks like their losing > money....in this case it would be for decades. Thus, the funds managers who > were prudent ether were converted or lost their jobs. > > I don't think Adam Smith envisioned the GDP of the world being issued as > credit default swaps. > > Dan M. > > _______________________________________________ > http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
