yeah, the day I found out free markets werent a solution to every problem wasn't fun. but everybody must became an adult eventually
Landis, Thanks for a rationale post. I just canât believe all these people with this attitude of âjust let the banks failâ.
For all those who donât like Paulson: Would you rather have John Snow in there????? Secretary, what should we do about Bear Stearns? âIt is in our interest to support a strong dollar and we support a strong dollarâ Secretary, what should we do about the GSEâs? âIt is in our interest to support a strong dollar and we support a strong dollarâ Secretary, what should we do about LEH and MER? âIt is in our interest to support a strong dollar and we support a strong dollarâ Secretary, the banking system is on the verge of collapse, what are we going to do? âIt is in our interest to support a strong dollar and we support a strong dollarâ I donât agree with how Paulson has handled everything, but what should the govt. do? Handle things the way they did in the late 20âs and just take a hands off approach and let the markets sort everything out lassie fare?
Reread on the 1929 crash and Great Depression. Hoover was anything but laissez-faire, and obviously FDR was the exact opposite of a free-marketeer. There were numerous interventions into the economy that prevented markets from clearing during the 1930s, that's why unemployment stayed at 10-20% levels for an *entire decade* despite the New Deal and its make-work programs. The 1930s was similar to Japan in the 1990s except more heavy handed. Both times massive intervention was tried, and every effort made to stave off liquidation and market clearing. Both times the economy went nowhere for 10 years, resulting in a lost generation. Repeating those policies would be disastrous.