d.b. Agreed. The plan in it's current form sucks and should not be passed.
On Sep 30, 4:04 am, "d.b.baker" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > [Q] - 165 economists sent the following letter to Congress on Wed Sept > 24 2008 regarding the Treasury plan as outlined on that date. It does > not reflect all signatories' views on subesquent plans or > modifications of the bill: > > To the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro > tempore of the Senate: > > As economists, we want to express to Congress our great concern for > the plan proposed by Treasury Secretary Paulson to deal with the > financial crisis. We are well aware of the difficulty of the current > financial situation and we agree with the need for bold action to > ensure that the financial system continues to function. We see three > fatal pitfalls in the currently proposed plan: > > 1) Its fairness. The plan is a subsidy to investors at taxpayers’ > expense. Investors who took risks to earn profits must also bear the > losses. Not every business failure carries systemic risk. The > government can ensure a well-functioning financial industry, able to > make new loans to creditworthy borrowers, without bailing out > particular investors and institutions whose choices proved unwise. > > 2) Its ambiguity. Neither the mission of the new agency nor its > oversight are clear. If taxpayers are to buy illiquid and opaque > assets from troubled sellers, the terms, occasions, and methods of > such purchases must be crystal clear ahead of time and carefully > monitored afterwards. > > 3) Its long-term effects. If the plan is enacted, its effects will be > with us for a generation. For all their recent troubles, America's > dynamic and innovative private capital markets have brought the nation > unparalleled prosperity. Fundamentally weakening those markets in > order to calm short-run disruptions is desperately short-sighted. > > For these reasons we ask Congress not to rush, to hold appropriate > hearings, and to carefully consider the right course of action, and to > wisely determine the future of the financial industry and the U.S. > economy for years to come. > -http://faculty.chicagogsb.edu/john.cochrane/research/Papers/mortgage_... --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more. -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
