A lot of things are being thrown out there right now about the current financial meltdown. I have heard a lot of talk on the various news programs that if the U.S. taxpayer doesn't bailout Wall Street then we are headed for another Great Depression.
Jeffrey A. Miron had an interesting piece at CNN.com. He is definitely a contrarian when compared to what seems to be the current conventional wisdom. But a lot of it sounds right to me.
Another great resource is this video from Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia. It is about an hour long but very informative. A couple points that I thought were interesting:
One of the professors pointed out that the government would be buying these bad loans on very favorable terms and thus there was a lot of potential upside.
About 2/3 of the way through they start discussing how business school education needs to change. Companies should be focussed on building "good businesses" and not "maximizing shareholder value" at any cost - exactly!
Though I am currently opposed to the bailout proposals I must admit that I have my doubts as to whether my position is correct or not. A new great depression is a pretty scary thing. But it seems that everyone who is pushing the bailout has a strong vested interest in this thing not blowing up. The business correspondents are most likely heavily invested in the stock market which will take a big hit if this happens. Lawmakers are going to get a lot of the blame if this doesn't get fixed. So, who do you trust? This people that are proposing the "fix" are the very ones who created the problem.
I guess now it is just a game of chicken. Will the lawmakers opposed to this bailout be willing to chance a new great depression? And, if we avoid it now are we just delaying the inevitable?
Two Interesting Perspectives on the Current Financial Crisis
A lot of things are being thrown out there right now about the current financial meltdown. I have heard a lot of talk on the various news programs that if the U.S. taxpayer doesn't bailout Wall Street then we are headed for another Great Depression.
Jeffrey A. Miron had an interesting piece at CNN.com. He is definitely a contrarian when compared to what seems to be the current conventional wisdom. But a lot of it sounds right to me.
Another great resource is this video from Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia. It is about an hour long but very informative. A couple points that I thought were interesting:
Though I am currently opposed to the bailout proposals I must admit that I have my doubts as to whether my position is correct or not. A new great depression is a pretty scary thing. But it seems that everyone who is pushing the bailout has a strong vested interest in this thing not blowing up. The business correspondents are most likely heavily invested in the stock market which will take a big hit if this happens. Lawmakers are going to get a lot of the blame if this doesn't get fixed. So, who do you trust? This people that are proposing the "fix" are the very ones who created the problem.
I guess now it is just a game of chicken. Will the lawmakers opposed to this bailout be willing to chance a new great depression? And, if we avoid it now are we just delaying the inevitable?