Here are the headlines from Bloomberg
•AIG Plunges After Cut in Credit Rating Jeopardizes Effort to Raise Capital
•Overnight Interest Rate Doubles as Banks Hoard Cash on Failure Speculation
•Federal Reserve Adds $50 Billion to Money Market, Sending Funds Rate Lower
•Barclays Discussing Purchase of Lehman Assets, May Seek Broker-Dealer Unit
•Wall Street Convulsions May Further Erode U.S. Growth, Put Pressure on Fed
•Goldman Profit Slumps 70%, Biggest Drop Since Company Went Public in 1999
•Consumer Prices in U.S. Fall First Time in Almost Two Years as Fuel Drops
•McCain Says Government Should Allow AIG Failure to Prevent `Moral Hazard’
•China’s Milk Scandal Broadens With Discovery of Melamine in Yoghurt Bars
{ 5 comments }
*double take*
McCain Says Government Should Allow AIG Failure to Prevent `Moral Hazard’??
In my mind, the biggest question is what will the average person as well as “intellectual” learn from the current financial market crisis, the second serious convulsion in less than 10 years? Will these individuals finally realize that fiat money and fractional reserve banking are unstable and unethical? Will they finally learn that creating loanable funds not fully backed by real savings, or what Mises termed fiduciary media, can not, in the long-term, produce additional consumer or capital goods?
Unfortunately, certain powerful interest groups benefit from the current system and will attempt to maintain their politically privileged position and thwart the dissemination of accurate information and analysis and the implementation of positive reforms.
No, they will most likely blame the so-called “free market” system and call for more and more and MORE intensive socialist-like interventionist policies.
Come on, we all KNOW that’s what’s going to happen.
The better chance is for others (like the Chinese or the Indians) to learn from our disaster. Fortunately, for them, they are going towards reduced intervention and might be encouraged to continue that upward climb. The Russians appear lost to liberalism.
Here again the prescience of Hayek.
Comments on this entry are closed.