As everyone from Paul Krugman to Simon Johnson has noted, the banks are so big and politically powerful that they have bought the politicians and captured the regulators (and see this).But it’s not just a question of regulatory capture and corruption. …
Posts Tagged ‘Paul Krugman’
Financial Writers Slam Irish Bailout
November 26th, 2010 |
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Paul Krugman wrote yesterday: These debts were incurred, not to pay for public programs, but by private wheeler-dealers seeking nothing but their own profit. Yet ordinary Irish citizens are now bearing the burden of those debts.***Punishing the …
Krugman: “The Question Is Whether Our Economy Is Governed By Any Kind Of Rule Of Law”
October 15th, 2010 |
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Paul Krugman writes:The mortgage mess is making nonsense of claims that we have effective contract enforcement — in fact, the question is whether our economy is governed by any kind of rule of law.*** True to form, the Obama administration’s re…
IMF Calls for Huge New Round of Bank Bailouts
October 6th, 2010 |
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The IMF is calling for a huge new round of bank bailouts.As the Telegraph noted yesterday: Lenders across Europe and the US are facing a $4 trillion refinancing hurdle in the coming 24 months and many still need to recapitalise, the Washington-ba…
Why Are Home Sales Plummeting?
August 27th, 2010 |
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Why are home sales plummeting?On the surface, it is because the government’s tax-credit for first-time home buyers lapsed in April. It takes a couple of months lag-time between buyer purchase decisions and the actual close of escrow, and so the expir…
The Fed’s New Round of Quantitative Easing Is Like Trying to Patch Leaking Pipes by Pumping in More Water
August 11th, 2010 |
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Bernanke announced additional quantitative easing yesterday, primarily in the form of buying treasuries to monetize the U.S. debt.Jeff Harding points out that those worried about deflation within the Fed won out over the scared-of-inflation camp:The Fe…
Can the Financial Reform Bill Fix the Economy?
July 17th, 2010 |
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Preface: If you’ve been too busy to pay attention to the details, and if you’re hoping that the financial reform bill which has just been passed will fix the economy, this essay will bring you up to date. Congress, Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernan…
Expert on chances of Greece leaving eurozone
June 4th, 2010 |
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American economist and Nobel Prize winner Paul Krugman has raised doubts that a rescue plan worth EUR 110bn for debt-stricken Greece will be effective. He noted that he believed the country still faced a 50-50 chance of ejection from the eurozone.
Cap and Trade: A Gigantic Scam
May 22nd, 2010 |
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As I pointed out in December:James Hansen – the world’s leading climate scientist fighting against global warming – told Amy Goodman this morning that cap and trade not only won’t reduce emissions, it may actually increase them: The problem is that th…
5 Reasons We Must Break Up the Giant Banks
April 30th, 2010 |
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As everyone from Paul Krugman to Simon Johnson has noted, the banks are so big and politically powerful that they have bought the politicians and captured the regulators.But the giant banks are not only dangerous because they skew the political system….
No Wonder the Eurozone is Imploding
April 28th, 2010 |
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You might assume that the reason for the implosion in the Eurozone is a mystery. But it’s not.There Wouldn’t Be a Crisis Among Nations If Banks’ Toxic Gambling Debts Hadn’t Been Assumed by the World’s Central BanksThere wouldn’t be a crisis among natio…
Krugman: Break Up the Giant Banks to Stop Their Domination of the Political Process
April 20th, 2010 |
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While Paul Krugman has seemed to go against the rising tide of experts calling for the giant banks to be broken up, he clarified his position last week:My view is that I’d love to see those financial giants broken up, if only for political reasons: i…
“The Reason For This Cover-Up Goes Right To The White House”
March 18th, 2010 |
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As I pointed out in 2007:The 9/11 Commission Report was largely based on a third-hand account of what tortured detainees said, with two of the three parties in the communication being government employees.The official 9/11 Commission Report states:Chap…
Grading Free Market Capitalism and “The Invisible Hand”
February 28th, 2010 |
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Free market capitalism is based on the idea that “the invisible hand” of the market will create the best possible outcome for the most people.But as I noted a couple of weeks ago, the man who came up with idea of the invisible hand did not believe in u…
Krugman: American Economy Will Not Recover for a Long Time
January 5th, 2010 |
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Last week, Pimco’s CEO said that he doesn’t think we’ll have a v-shaped recovery, and that economists, advisors and managers who have been counting on a v-shaped recovery are ignoring the economic fundamentals in our economy.Now, Paul Krugman is agr…
Leading Global Warming Crusader: Cap and Trade May INCREASE CO2 Emissions
December 31st, 2009 |
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James Hansen – the world’s leading climate scientist fighting against global warming – told Amy Goodman this morning that cap and trade not only won’t reduce emissions, it may actually increase them: The problem is that the emissions just go someplace…
Volcker: Financial Innovation is Worthless, and Banks Should Be Limited to Traditional Depository Functions
December 9th, 2009 |
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The Telegraph notes: The former US Federal Reserve chairman told an audience that included some of the world’s most senior financiers that their industry’s “single most important” contribution in the last 25 years has been automatic telling ma…
Head of California’s Cap and Trade Offsets Program: Cap and Trade Won’t Work for Climate, It’s a Scam
December 8th, 2009 |
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Paul Krugman argues that cap and trade worked to reduce sulfur dioxide and stop acid rain, and so it will work to reduce C02.However, two EPA lawyers with more than 40 years of cumulative experience – including the guy who has been head of California’s…
Deficits (and Massive Debt Overhangs) DO Matter
November 24th, 2009 |
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The New York Times has a good essay on debt:But that happy situation, aided by ultralow interest rates, may not last much longer. Treasury officials now face a trifecta of headaches: a mountain of new debt, a balloon of short-term borrowings that come …