Betzee said...

Betzee at 10:15 PM JST - 18th September

Ah, "the irony, the irony" as Glenn Greenwald observes in his column today:

*Shouldn't these same people be standing up today and insisting that if Sarah Palin has done nothing wrong, then she should have nothing to hide? If Sarah Palin isn't committing crimes or consorting with The Terrorists, then…

Posted in Probe into Palin's firing of official unraveling at 10:15 PM JST - 18th September
Betzee at 11:04 PM JST - 17th September

Barack will usher in the changes you and the other international socialists who clamor to this site seek so ardently.

Except the Bush Administration beat him to the punch:

President Truman once tried to nationalize the steel industry, arguing that a strike that halted production in wartime created a national…

Posted in Bush scraps comments on financial crisis at 11:04 PM JST - 17th September
Betzee at 09:54 AM JST - 17th September

bu tthe truth is this was started in the clinton years

It started earlier than that. Last December I downloaded this piece, which appeared in various US publications before being reprinted overseas (where it's still available online). It's remarkably prescient as a federal bail-out for AIG is being readied:

Once…

Posted in Bush scraps comments on financial crisis at 09:54 AM JST - 17th September
Betzee at 10:33 PM JST - 16th September

This does not reflect greed so much as denial:

*Just as homeowners took out big loans and stretched themselves on the assumption that their chief asset — their home — could only go up, so did Wall Street firms borrow tens of billions of dollars to make subprime mortgage bets…

Posted in Obama, McCain blame economic woes on greed, policy at 10:33 PM JST - 16th September
Betzee at 10:10 PM JST - 16th September

One of the things that made it hard to make Michael Milken, of junk bond fame, a poster boy for greed and excess was that despite his enormous wealth he lived a modest, family-oriented life. That helped him re-enter society after his legal problems were over. Plus, he's very bright…

Posted in Obama, McCain blame economic woes on greed, policy at 10:10 PM JST - 16th September
Betzee at 09:58 PM JST - 16th September

I said in another post that capital investment is what helped the "Asian Tigers," a term used in reference to the very successful Asian countries with economies that had rapid growth. These countries needed investment to grow rapidly. A whole lot of greedy people were lending the "Asian Tigers" money.…

Posted in Obama, McCain blame economic woes on greed, policy at 09:58 PM JST - 16th September
Betzee at 09:50 PM JST - 16th September

If the greedy lenders are not rewarded for increased risk then less " bright, new, innovative ideas" will reach the market.

This describes a venture capitalist, essential to advancing technological innovation and a fixture on the landscape in places like Silicon Valley, very well. But what got Wall Street into…

Posted in Obama, McCain blame economic woes on greed, policy at 09:50 PM JST - 16th September
Betzee at 09:34 PM JST - 16th September

In fact, SuperLib, most of my post came from a book I read recently (which I highly recommend):

The Trillion Dollar Meltdown: Easy Money, High Rollers, and the Great Credit Crash by Charles Morris

And I'm not alone in singing its praises: "However up to date it may seem, this…

Posted in Obama, McCain blame economic woes on greed, policy at 09:34 PM JST - 16th September
Betzee at 10:52 AM JST - 16th September

Yabits,

Some of those who were forced into bankruptcy was the result of putting medical bills on plastic (owing to inadequate or no health insurance). In most cases, it was due to circumstances beyond their control rather than irresponsbile purchasing. Yet, and I'm going to show my liberal stripes here:…

Posted in Obama, McCain blame economic woes on greed, policy at 10:52 AM JST - 16th September
Betzee at 10:13 AM JST - 16th September

Alphaape,

Any powerful industry is going to line pockets on both sides of the aisle. My first credit card, which I got only after I was working, was headquartered in South Dakota a state, like Delaware, with lax regulatory laws. It probably also created local jobs.

I'm a big believer…

Posted in Obama, McCain blame economic woes on greed, policy at 10:13 AM JST - 16th September