Economy

The latest version of the bailout bill

By Donald B. Hawthorne | September 28, 2008 |

House Republican Whip Roy Blunt’s office provides this side-by-side comparison of Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson’s original Wall Street bailout proposal with the final compromise agreed to over the weekend by congressional and Treasury negotiators here. Much better. Thanks are due from the American taxpayers to the House Republicans. After the debacles of recent years, I…

Congressional Democrats: Letting “I Dare Not” Wait Upon “I Would”

By Monique Chartier | September 26, 2008 |

Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) appeared on the John DePetro Show this morning [no podcast yet available] [edit: podcast available here courtesy WPRO] to discuss the status of the bailout. At one point, he pointed to Congressional Republicans as the reason that bailout legislation has so far failed. Question for all Democrats in Congress. You control…

Yep. Scary.

By Donald B. Hawthorne | September 26, 2008 |

Irwin Stelzer writes New Capitalism: Market capitalism in the United States will never be the same: No matter what deal is finally cut between Hank Paulson, the Democrats, and unhappy conservative Republicans, or even if no deal at all is finally worked out, market capitalism as practiced in the United States will never be the…

The Familiar Ring of Fascism

By Justin Katz | September 26, 2008 |

Something from a recent David Brooks column ought to sound familiar: The government will be much more active in economic management (pleasing a certain sort of establishment Democrat). Government activism will provide support to corporations, banks and business and will be used to shore up the stable conditions they need to thrive (pleasing a certain…

Markets and Martingales

By Carroll Andrew Morse | September 25, 2008 |

I don’t know a whole lot about the world of high-finance, but I do understand a bit about probability and in probabilistic terms, the government’s proposed $700 billion bailout of U.S. financial markets bears some uncanny similarities to the use of a “martingale” strategy to make money. That is not a good thing. Gamblers have…

Investors’ Nerves

By Justin Katz | September 25, 2008 |

The Providence Journal’s in-print lead for this Business section story yesterday about the bailout: Investors are nervous about apparent resistance to the plan in Congress. My initial reaction: Good. Maybe next time they’ll be nervous about apparently risky business ventures.

Fourth-Hand Opinions on a Complicated Topic

By Justin Katz | September 23, 2008 |

The eye-opening thing is how many people believe that something as extensive as the current financial crisis can be analyzed simply and placed at the door of a particular political party — even a particular individual! By the time one gets to such specific and flatly stated explanations as Froma Harrop’s, it is likely that…

Financial Crisis is Our Fault, too

By Marc Comtois | September 22, 2008 |

“How the Democrats Created the Financial Crisis” by Kevin Hassett is getting heavy play in conservative circles (talk radio, the blogosphere), mostly because it is both an accurate piece of the story and attractively partisan. However, Victor Davis Hanson reminds us that, while there is plenty of blame to put on Wall Street and Washington,…

Don Roach: Is the AIG Bailout a Long-Term Solution?

By Engaged Citizen | September 21, 2008 |

With the Fed’s announcement that it will bail out insurance behemoth AIG, taxpayers are left asking, “Who’s on first?” It’s as if most corporations were asleep at the wheel during the subprime mortgage boom earlier this decade. And now, everyone’s looking at each other trying to figure out where to cast blame and unsure of…

So What’s the Lesson?

By Justin Katz | September 20, 2008 |

Charles Pinning’s op-ed in today’s Providence Journal may present an awkward blend of maudlin setting and ideological sneer, but perhaps it offers a chance for productive conversation. Pinning puts the following in the mouth of an older male character from Providence’s west side, speaking of the regular schmoes whom his elderly sweetheart just encountered at…