I have nothing to do with this

[cema]

As I am not an expert in finances or economics, I defer any judgment on the bailout and its failure.

But we are all experts in politics, aren't we. Do I understand it correctly that the basic driving force behind the current financial troubles is a failure of a socialist experiment in the housing market? Or is it only part of the problem?

And the politicians, as usual, will blame someone else. (And everybody else will blame politicians.)

It is interesting to note, too, that more Americans are reported to trust Obama's team on economics than McCains' team. Whereas one would think that it would be the other way.

Update. A bit heated in the comments. Chill out, the world is not going to end right now.

Comments

:-)

[cema.livejournal.com]

Well, it seems everyone here is an expert except you and me. Now all we need to do is to choose which experts to trust. I think I will look for an expert in trustworthiness.

Re: :-)

[calypso72]

Well, let's see. McCain's economic advisers include Phil Gramm and Carly Fiorina.

Per Bob Herbert today:

"John McCain and his economic main man, Phil (“this is a mental recession”) Gramm, were right there running with them.

Credit markets have frozen almost solid, banks are toppling like dominoes and brokerage houses are vanishing like props in a magic act. And who was one of the paramount leaders of the manic anti-regulatory charge that led to this sorry state of affairs? None other than Mr. Gramm himself, a former chairman of the Senate Banking Committee.

Where is Mr. Gramm now? Would you believe that he’s the vice chairman of UBS Securities, the investment banking arm of the Swiss bank UBS? Of course you would. A New York Times article last spring noted that the “elite private bankers” of UBS “built a lucrative business in recent years by discreetly tending the fortunes of American millionaires and billionaires.”"

"The inescapable disconnect between rhetoric and reality is often stark. Senator McCain has been ranting recently about the excessive pay and “bloated golden parachutes” of failed corporate executives. And yet one of his closest advisers on economic matters is Carly Fiorina, who was forced out as chief executive of Hewlett-Packard. Her golden parachute was an estimated $42 million."

Meanwhile, Economists for Obama.

Re: :-)

[cema.livejournal.com]

There are ways to turn it this way and that way, and in general I am not particularly impressed with the way Obama chooses his company. However, because this time it is not just him but the whole Democratic party, perhaps his advisers will be better selected that they were in the past. We shall see.