The Financial World Worsens
Sep. 16th, 2008 03:23 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
unforthAIG Will Collapse Tomorrow Without Bail Out. Choice quotes: "If a financing solution is not reached, A.I.G. may file for bankruptcy as soon as Wednesday, a person briefed on the matter said Monday night...the company could survive only one day without the financing." Also, "a collapse of A.I.G. might surpass Lehman’s bankruptcy in terms of its damage to the financial system."
Shit. To reiterate yesterday, I'm scared.
And then I read what McCain Calls "Healthcare Reform, and I'm terrified. This is amplified by McCain's Statements on the Financial Crisis. In time honored fashion, redirect, redirect, redirect. But oh, I heart Obama: "Senator McCain offered up the oldest Washington stunt in the book – you pass the buck to a commission to study the problem. But here’s the thing – this isn’t 9/11. We know how we got into this mess. What we need now is leadership that gets us out." Read more about Obama's response.
On the dimly bright side, at least this has all gotten me finally doing something I've wanted to do for a while, namely read more about politics, the economy - become more actively engaged with current events, and prepare to speak up and speak out if I deem it necessary (read: if McCain wins this election).
Shit. To reiterate yesterday, I'm scared.
And then I read what McCain Calls "Healthcare Reform, and I'm terrified. This is amplified by McCain's Statements on the Financial Crisis. In time honored fashion, redirect, redirect, redirect. But oh, I heart Obama: "Senator McCain offered up the oldest Washington stunt in the book – you pass the buck to a commission to study the problem. But here’s the thing – this isn’t 9/11. We know how we got into this mess. What we need now is leadership that gets us out." Read more about Obama's response.
On the dimly bright side, at least this has all gotten me finally doing something I've wanted to do for a while, namely read more about politics, the economy - become more actively engaged with current events, and prepare to speak up and speak out if I deem it necessary (read: if McCain wins this election).
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no subject
Date: 2008-09-17 10:58 pm (UTC)As much as McCain's statement's on the economy scare you (and they scare me too, somewhat), I gotta note a couple of things:
(a) I like to believe that it's precisely that same unbridled corruption and greed on Wall Street that made this country what it is today. But I digress again...
(b) Obama's response, quite frankly, scares the hell out of me more. "He called on increasing government oversight and supervision on all regulated financial institutions and strengthening capital requirements" - the idea of those two things is downright terrible to a wall street that prides itself on self-regulation. The reason why financial markets work the way they do is because people in the industry have wide ranging options. And don't get me started on "strengthened capital requirements" - you might as well tell us not to do business at all, and the effects of this on the economy are clear and negative. Look up the money multiplier to get more of an idea what I mean.
To be fair though, the Obama's response article did bring up an interesting point:
"“Over the last few years, commercial banks and thrift institutions were subject to guidelines on subprime mortgages that did not apply to mortgage brokers and companies.”
Which makes me wonder why myself and other people in my field are being punished for something a broker in a different field managed to pull out of his ass.
It's all shits and giggles until AIG loses an eye. And then it's hilarious.