Posted on 09/11/2008 2:52:43 PM PDT by Rufus2007
The fragility of the U.S. banking system puts the country in a more dire position than many people realize according to CNBC “Mad Money” host Jim Cramer.
Cramer, in his September 11 “Stop Trading” segment on CNBC’s “Street Signs” told host Erin Burnett the situation puts the United States in danger of “Great Depression, No. 2.”
Burnett questioned Cramer’s assertion that banks should be bailed out by the federal government, in turn passing the cost off to the taxpayer. “It’s obvious the bank system is falling apart,” Cramer said. “Let’s save it before it goes to zero.”
Here is the blow by blow:
...more (w/video)...
(Excerpt) Read more at businessandmedia.org ...
bttt
I said here two years ago (and was a laughing stock), that the housing/credit meltdown could lead to a recessionas bad or worse than the GD. It seemed “almost” impossible to me at the time, but a risk.
In my mind, the probability of anoter GD beginning in the next three years, without government intervention in the banking system, is much greater than 50%. With it, significantly lower.
Congrats taxpayers. Word is we will soon own some of the Lehman downside risk too. Feds are engineering a buyout ala Bear Stearns.
CRAMER: We don’t want a Great Depression. I mean, we just don’t want one.
BURNETT: But, are we really at risk of a Great Depression? Most people would argue that we’re not in a full-blown recession.
CRAMER: Totally, totally. John Stumpf [president] from Wells Fargo said it was the worst since the Great Depression.
BURNETT: In housing, but that’s not everywhere.
CRAMER: If I wanted clean hands, if I wanted to be Andrew Mellon, I would call for – I would just say, “Listen, let’s just let the Great Depression, Number Two, happen. But, that’s where we are. That’s, we’ve been like that for a while. So, let’s try to avoid it if we can.
Cramer: Mr. pump and dump.
Here we go with another liberal fearmongering over the state of the economy.
Just like Rush says: Libs always try to scare voters every four years with the economy. Rush says that libs try to act as if souplines are forming, etc, etc.
better then hold and loose
I don’t question Cramers knowledge, only his motives.
Isn’t this the guy who said Bear-Stearns was a great buy about a week before it collapsed?
Yes indeed. That was a classic.
PS, on Kramer’s website there’s a terrific online “sound effect board” that duplicates all the crazy sounds he uses. It’s a hoot, and kids love it.
Jim Cramer, the Sam Kinison of the financial world.
FYI
HH is out cutting wood.
I’m back! :-)
Never mind. He’s back.
The Great Depression had nothing to do with the financial markets. It was caused by protectionism initiated by the U.S. and then prolonged by FDR’s socialism.
This needs to be separated into two parts: saving the banking system and saving the bankers. If a bank needs bailing out they need to reduce pay to civil service rates, the shareholders whiped out, the bondholders take a big haircut and the derivatives counter parties lose a lot of money. They also need to go back and take back bonuses, etc. for the last 5 years or so.
Forcing banks to mark to market, and applying serious jail time for those who cooked the books, sounds like good intervention to me.
Buying up junk paper in an attempt to reinflate the housing bubble, treating the debt binge by supplying more debt, is a cure worse than the disease.
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