Category: economy

Michael Barone asks the right questions, we offer the right answer
If Republicans had three House members or one Senator as smart as Michael the GOP would be unstoppable this fall.
No such luck.
Barone, writing today, on financial reform is right on all three points he raises in his piece.
First, Republicans must offer their own agenda [...]

A couple days ago we had a piece up on National Review Online.  Professor Arnold Kling and Nicole Gelinas  both comented on it.Â
Mr. Kling was off to such a great start, and then without warning he’s just gone plain silly.
Some of his confusion is unsurprising. Everyone, but everyone who comments on the crisis seems to [...]

Gabcast! Richard Vigilante on the Grandy & Andy Morning Show

My Friend David Frum and why he is worth 10 dozen Tunkus and why this post is not as off topic as it seems.

Last week Tunku with the unpronounceable last name, whose previous claim to fame was being the worst WSJ op-ed editor in living memory, decided to reveal to the world why David Frum [...]

Your investment advisor likely puts together your portfolio in the same way the busted banks put together their own portfolios of mortgage-backed securities
In Part I we talked about the first big idea that your investment advisor probably shares with your banker, especially if your bank is one of the big important ones that almost blew [...]

This Sunday, New York Times Magazine is publishing a story titled: HEADING OFF THE NEXT FINANCIAL CRISIS (Hat tip Mike Allen at Politico). In the piece New York Times economics columnist David Leonhardt looks at the idea of preventing the next financial crisis, or at least making it less damaging. He includes a conversation he [...]

Listen right here to Richard Vigilante on Business for Breakfast, explaining the ongoing problems with our financial systems – and the reason we’ll see more market crashes in our lifetimes:
Gabcast! Richard Vigilante on Business for Breakfast

We think Geithner et al are wrong and that unemployment will decline substantially this year. Both theory and experience argue business investment not consumer spending is the essential driver of recovery. Now that most businesses of significant size can borrow again investments that have been postponed for almost two years now have to come soon.
 If [...]

There will be other financial disasters – and just as Andrew Redleaf predicted the last one more than a year before it happened, the next one will be both predictable and avoidable. Find out how by reading Panic.

As readers of Panic know we are big fans of AEI scholar Peter Wallison so we were thrilled to get his reply to our post yesterday (which you can find below.)
Richard and Andy,
I was delighted that you saw the distinction I have been trying to make between creditors and managements. Too many in Congress and [...]