Bush says coordinated action saved world economy

Business Week ^

[Chet 99]

Coordinated international action helped save the world from the financial crisis that erupted last year, former President George W. Bush said Wednesday.

"We intervened early, we intervened aggressively and we intervened together," Bush told the World Knowledge Forum, an annual conference sponsored by a South Korean business newspaper. Bush added that it remains unknown what would have happened had action not been taken.

"I believe because of close coordination and the willingness to act in the face of financial danger that the interjection of capital into the financial system helped save our economies," Bush said.

[03A3]

But, by all indications President Bush (and the world) acted quickly and properly to avoid a total crash which would have left most on this thread without a pot to piss in.

Please explain.

[ballplayer]

Does that mean all those Non Free market steps he took to save the Free Market can be put back in place now?

[justa-hairyape]

What preceded the economic collapse of the US in 2008, was the collapse of the US dollar. Guess what is happening right now, once again ?

[CharlesWayneCT]

I know there is widespread hatred and derision for what happened last year.

But let’s pretend (make it hypothetical if that helps). Let’s pretend that Bush is right, that he was able to pull together the world community to intervene. Assume that without that intervention the world economy would have collapsed. With that collapse, there would have been widespread poverty, starvation, hardship. Certainly it would have led to regional wars and conflicts as nations fought each other for dwindling resources.

We don’t believe the story, ok, but please, bear with me — the world community of socialists certainly believe that Bush’s work with the world community was necessary, and that it saved the world economy from collapse and the chaos that would follow.

Therefore, isn’t it the case that George Bush did MORE FOR WORLD PEACE in 2008 than anybody else, by this strong intervention?

And doesn’t that mean that Bush, and not Obama, deserved the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize for actions taken in 2008? Obama did NOTHING in 2008 to help world peace, after all, while according to this story Bush’s foresight and ability to bring the world’s leaders together saved us from world war 4.

[nathanbedford]

Much of this remains in the realm of the unknowable unless some players come forward. For example Paulson could say "I consciously exaggerated everything." Soros could have the Damascus Road experience and confess that he is the Goldfinger behind the crash. Barring these unlikely revelations, we will remain in the dark for a long time about the real need for the Bush intervention.

However, I regard the Bush intervention as small potatoes next to the trillions squandered by Obama and that in a fraudulent cause. We could have survived very well and digested the Bush invention and I think we tend to conflate the few hundred billion that Bush used against Obama's literally uncounted trillions.

There is a difference in moral character as well. Bush was confronted with an emergency situation and he was told he must act within hours or the world would crash. Obama was not confronted with an emergency situation but he told the world that if they did not act it would crash.

[Wpin]

According to news reports I have read there was a huge run on savings account in October, 08. Something like 500 billion dollars were withdrawn within a few hours. If this had continued we would have seen a collapse that probably would have exceeded what we saw in 1930’s. Like them or not we have to realize that financial industry is the life blood of our civilization. If it were to crash the depth of the resulting chaos and poverty would be incredibly bad. You would probably literally see millions homeless and starving. Unemployment would be much higher than it is now and price deflation would have been very fast.

I do not doubt that the run on savings actually happened, it is too big to keep fraud secret. I do question whether or not it was contrived by some on the left (Soro’s and pals) to help the far left win this past election.

We are at war from within and most conservatives do not understand that and are too apathetic to want to see the reality anyway. It is easier to blame government in general or both parties rather than see the democrat party as the enemy of America.

[wastoute]

As always, you are right on it!

Μολὼν λάβε

[wastoute]

IIRC the 500 billion you speak of was an overnight transfer of funds from CHinese Central Banks. THe Brown SHirt Media decided that wasn't a story that needed investigation or explanation so we never heard anothyer word about it. Deninger was on it the next morning becasue I remember reading it and it was a "The World is On Fire" type headline. Then nothing. Not a whisper.

Μολὼν λάβε

[Wpin]

“IIRC the 500 billion you speak of was an overnight transfer of funds from CHinese Central Banks.”

I seriously doubt that...can you provide documentation?

[TChris]

I do know that if abandoning my ideology long enough to countenance the bailout would save the country from a depression, I would do it in a heartbeat.

There was a downturn in 1922 that corrected itself in pretty short order, precisely because the government (Harding) did nothing to intervene.

The Not-So-Great Depression

Government intervention always makes economic problems worse.

Every.

Single.

Time.

[crunk]

When will they learn? Unfortunately, this one might be orchestrated intentionally for all sorts of nefarious reasons.

[dfwgator]

It was a temporary Stay of Execution.

[crunk]

However, I regard the Bush intervention as small potatoes next to the trillions squandered by Obama and that in a fraudulent cause. We could have survived very well and digested the Bush invention and I think we tend to conflate the few hundred billion that Bush used against Obama's literally uncounted trillions.

I agree. The jury is still out on the Bush intervention - and we may never know how necessary it was and what may have happened had he not acted. However, we do know that Obama's subsequent actions have not helped while squandering trillions. It was a crisis too good to waste.

[nathanbedford]

But that then, by my definition at least, was not a "depression." I meant a depression in the 1930s sense which in that instance lasted a decade and was a profound systemic trauma by every dimension, culturally, psychologically, economically, politically.

If government intervention would prevent such a thing, I would countenance it. But please understand that the entire essay was written to emphasize the sheer tonnage of that which we do not know and to beg for a wee bit of humility from both sides. I'm not sure that economics is a science that could be put to the scientific method and yield Newtonian predictability.

[TChris]

I'm not sure that economics is a science that could be put to the scientific method and yield Newtonian predictability.

But that's my point. It does.

At least with all previous attempts by any known government to influence the economy and "fix things", and not just American government either, it has always made the situation worse.

Dr. Thomas Sowell's excellent Basic Economics illustrates that fact far better than I can.

[nathanbedford]

1) Economics is not called the "dismal science" for nothing but because of the want of predictability and clarity.

2) I daresay that Dr. Thomas Sowell is among the minority of economists if in fact his book maintains that view. In fact, there is not one government in the world that I know of that has been persuaded to that view.

3) I think we all accept that it is hard to prove a negative proposition, therefore, we must consider that many interventions might have succeeded.

4) My plea for humility remains in tact because it assumes arguendo that which you will not accept, that an intervenion would be effective.

[TChris]

4) My plea for humility remains in tact because it assumes arguendo that which you will not accept, that an intervenion would be effective.

My reason for that firm belief is that there has never yet been an intervention that has been effective. The most effective response, proven repeatedly, is for the government to do nothing.

When one response -- do nothing -- always works, and every other response tried to date has only deepened and prolonged economic suffering, why on earth would I expect that yet another government intervention would be effective?

Intervention has never been effective. Ever.

It isn't an affront to humility to recognize clear, repeatable truths.

[Gritty]

The vast majority of the American People were against your TARP bailouts, George. Nevertheless, you listened to the Goldman-Sachs looters rather than us.

Why don't you fess up and admit you made a horrible mistake by listening to Paulson and Bernanke?

Then, be a man and tell the American People what you really think about Obama and his fellow fascists who are wrecking the country you tried so hard to save for eight years. Better yet, get in there and help lead the charge to save America!

[Moonman62]

I remember W that one morning, when he did his usual cackle about subprime being contained as the world financial markets were imploding.

[nathanbedford]

I am inclined generally to agree with your view. In my very first post on the subject I explained my ideology to be in accordance with your view. I am not unaware of the work done by Amity Shoels on the 1930s depression. Hers is not the only voice on this issue however. I want to agree with her because it conforms to my ideology, but that ain't the way I get to what I believe. I do not believe in working backwards from my ideology. I am agnostic because I have not seen definitive proof.

In the issue at hand, we don't even know half facts, how can you be so sure?

I have a little humility before making blanket pronouncements. For example, our side is fond of saying that tax cuts advance prosperity. That is a government intervention that we think works. You agree? Do you want to amend the blanket assertion that interventions never work?