Go Paul Go!!!

This post is about two Pauls.

I remember being greatly heartened before the election when I heard that Paul Volcker would be part of the Obama financial team. I was equally disheartened later to learn that he was given second tier status to the likes of Geithner, Summers, Bernanke and others. Well, I think Paul is a bit tired of the Administration not hearing his voice, so he is letting the public hear it.

If you are unfamiliar with Volcker, he saved this country's collect arse from financial ruin in the 1980s by being willing to tell people where to stick it and being willing to have faith in his policies against the head winds of political pundits looking to do whatever is popular at the moment. He raised interest rates to outrageous levels and controlled runaway inflation. He is now largely being ignored despite his fancy title. And I suspect he does not like it one bit.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125313031639216991.html

You go Paul.!!!

Hitting the Nail on the Head!!

I have said many times how outraged I am at the money going to the banks that got us into this mess and how fueling more debt is not the best way to end a debt created crisis. This linked piece puts the point much more eloquently than I can. It points out the fatal flaw in the neoclassical economists, you know like Summers, approach to the situation, which unfortunately is the exact approach we have taken. As the link very aptly points out the best way to deal with a debt driven recession is to funnel the money to the debtors so they can pay down their debt and not give it to the lenders so they can create even more debt.

http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2009/09/guest-post-steve-keen-out-thinks-larry-summers.html

The link points out a speech by Obama wherein he noted that giving the money to banks has a multiplier effect as they lend to others. The problem being it multiplies debt, not equity. We are a nation of debtors that need less credit not more. We need debt reduction, less spending and a renewed sense of fiscal conservatism. We are getting there but no thank to the Administration's approach, which if it worked would only build a new and bigger bubble. This is what keeps me up at nights.

It is About Time!

Congress created a commission to study our current financial crisis. They cleverly call it the Financial Crisis Inquiry Committee. Gee, wish I had thought of that. What strikes me is that we are at least two years into this crisis and the committee is just getting started. Perhaps that is a hint on how this all happened. Hmm?

http://www.calculatedriskblog.com/2009/09/ny-times-financial-crisis-inquiry.html

Quack, Quack!! (Another Paul)

And now the second Paul. My parents are in town to meet their new grandson. It was a truly wonderful weekend in New Hampshire. Dad was pretty sick a couple years back but finally got an accurate diagnosis and seems to be doing much better. Mentally he was on his game cutting jokes and showing the wit I love. My daughter and son were both pretty good with minimal fighting and tantrums. Mom is doing great and the weather was simply perfect. And today we drove into Boston and took the Duck Boat tours, which involved a WWII converted amphibious vehicle converted into a tourist bus that drives all around the historical sites in Boston before launching into the Charles River and continuing the tour by sea. Our guide, Paul from Revere, was excellent and I learned a good deal about Boston and U.S. history in 80 minutes. I highly recommend it. Every time Paul would call out "One if by land and two if by sea" we would all shout out "quack, quack!" All that is except my two year old son who slept through nearly the entire tour.

Quack, Quack everyone!

Disclosures: none.