A Genuine and Immediate Crisis (What Congress has to do now)

The Weekly Standard ^ | 9/27/8 | William Kristol

[FlyVet]

I can't remember the name of the documentary, but it's out there. It was former prison workers and the few surviving prisoners of one of the "killing fields" prisons meeting, years later.

It was chilling how emotionless the former guards were. It destroyed their souls.

One of them described how they would execute prisoners. Make them kneel at the edge of the pit, and bash them in the head with a heavy metal pipe. He said he did thousands that way.

[RochesterFan]

Sad, but I fear too true. And the worst part is that those of us who pursued “prudence” will be taxed to bail out fools who sold themselves into slavery to “debt.”

[Petronski]

This is not the kind of scholarly analysis that I respect.

[Notary Sojac]

Sorry about that.

I figured that "anyone who is leveraged 30 to 1 can bite me" wasn't respectful enough, so I decided to sugar coat it a bit..

[garandgal]

Seriously, in the early 70’s I ate combat rations from WWII so I imagine anything canned will be edible. And by Monday they may be worth their weight in gold!

I have three unopened WWII rations downstairs (as part of a collection). I would have to be really hungry though...they are worth over $500 each as collectibles; bet you wished you would have saved yours up...LOL.

[Petronski]

Your “analysis” reveals a hell of a lot more about you than anything else.

Oh, and it’s very creepy.

[Notary Sojac]

Well, we're coming off a fifteen year period that a friend of mine called "the Seinfeld boom - a boom about nothing".

America's economic model during those years basically consisted of borrowing money from foreign countries, and spending that money buying assets (first tech stocks, then houses) back and forth from each other at ever-ratcheting prices.

No way we come down off that bender without the mother of all hangovers.

The Paulson plan is not going to avert this. Adding more debt is not the cure to a hyper-leveraged economy.

I'm not pretending that the economy is great, or that life will magically become sweet once all the investment bankers are strung up.

I'm saying that the Paulson plan as currently presented will have the effect of giving the status quo a life support extension and ensure an even harder crash when its effects wear off.

[LomanBill]

>>Wow. Name-calling.

Nope just making an observation. Comrade Collectivist Petronski. Now run along and worship your hive.

[LomanBill]

>>Deutche Bank invested heavily in U.S. mortgages.

Correct. IIRC, they were the principal warehouse lender working with Ameriquest/Argent.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=deutsche+bank+Argent&btnG=Search

[Petronski]

That’s the extent of your argument: personal abuse.

[LomanBill]

>>That’s the extent of your argument: personal abuse.

Yes I’m just an Ideological Luddite. A bigot.

You’ve learned well from the Rainbow Collective, comrade Petronski.

[Petronski]

That’s the extent of your argument: personal abuse.

[Petronski]

The Paulson plan is not going to avert this.

The Paulson plan is the difference between a recession and a severe recession or depression.

[Petronski]

The Paulson plan is not going to avert this.

The Paulson plan is the difference between a recession and a severe recession or depression.

[Petronski]

I'm saying that the Paulson plan as currently presented will have the effect of giving the status quo a life support extension and ensure an even harder crash when its effects wear off.

Ridiculous.

[Notary Sojac]

We're only going to get systemic recovery if we draw on the experience of those who had the smarts and the guts to identify the problem while it was fermenting.

People like Robert Shiller. Or Ivy Zelman. Or Nouriel Roubini.

Specifically NOT people like Ben Bernanke or Henry Paulson.