Comments on: Has the economy / market hit bottom?

By: Jan

Jan — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 12:29:17 +0000

From a comment by “Jimmy Havok” on a different blog: “Elizabeth Warren, chair of the Congressional Oversight Panel on TARP, pointed out that banking crises came almost like clockwork until the regulatory structures following the Great Depression were put into place, and that every unraveling of regulation that has followed has led to another crisis.”

By: mysticaltyger

mysticaltyger — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 23:54:21 +0000

I also think it’s “all of the above”. Nobody is innocent in this. The accumulation of debt by consumers, the government, and businesses has been building for decades. If we want a good economy for the long run, ALL 3 sectors are going to have to get debt levels down significantly from where they are now. And that’s going to take years, not months.

Of course, if we go for the usual quick fix crap like we have been since the 1970s then things may improve temporarly only to come crashing down again in a year or two.

By: Chad @ Sentient Money

Chad @ Sentient Money — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 15:11:24 +0000

@ Curt
We will have to agree to disagree then, because I can’t see how anyone can read those two sentences differently:

“Those things happen and will correct themselves, but not until the government gets out of the way. This is the crux of the problem in Japan.”

Sure the word “crux” indicates other variables, but your first sentence clearly states they don’t matter until the government gets out of the way. Thus, the other variables don’t matter per your argument.