tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36404602.post4645843544116848086..comments2023-10-26T05:08:20.977-04:00Comments on Connecting.the.Dots: Wall St. Wins, We Lose, What Else is New?ROBERT STEINhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11999996852219220599noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36404602.post-75879180118693546222009-07-18T00:19:01.460-04:002009-07-18T00:19:01.460-04:00"Executive greed", "excessive risk-..."Executive greed", "excessive risk-taking" and the like are simple, empty terms that merely beg the question. Saying that "greed" caused the current economic crisis is like saying "gravity" caused the ball to be dropped. It is up to us to keep the ball juggling, greed/gravity does help but it cannot do the whole task alone.<br /><br />So what are some of the larger issues, at stake? <br /><br />Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, of the notorious "government-sponsored enterprises" (GSEs) fame, are institutions whose only practical reason for existing was to serve as a vehicle to enrich certain congressional members, stockholders (who had recieved that stock mainly through the politics of pull, not capitalism) and assorted political hacks. That, however, was the least of our worries - undoubtably, they had full right to enrich themselves as they saw fit, what they did to do that however is horrific bordering on a high crime against. What they did was accomplished through blatant manipulation that any private company would not be able to get away with. <br /><br />A quote for you to ponder.<br /><br />"Repackaging them as triple-A-rated mortgage-backed securities and throwing them onto the broader securities market. This way, the entire system, from private lenders to Fannie and Freddie to securities firms, was systematically stripped of all the natural private incentives that, under normal circumstance, would be present to balance financial risks along the entire chain." - Thomas E. Woods's Meltdown<br /><br />Succinctly, blame Beltway, not Wall Street.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com