Unfortunately, it's rarely obvious which activities will lead
- to a meltdown before we're on the verge of one. If the
problem with the current regime is that it encourages
reckless behavior, Paulson's response is to encourage even
more of it. Under the current regime, Wall Street traders
have little supervision when they gamble huge amounts of
borrowed money on bets they only vaguely understand. What
they do have is a sneaking suspicion they'll be bailed out if
the bets turn bad. Under Paulson's proposal, the Wall Street
traders could end up with even less supervision but more
confidence in a forthcoming bailout.
This is no longer just moral hazard; it's moral stupidity.
With all due respect to Greenspan, Brooksley Born wasn't
angling to punch anyone in the nose. But, by this point, it
might be a good place to start.
By
And shirtless boys fire rocks with rackets
And shirtless boys fire rocks with rackets
from the lawn next door. Ping and twang,
then sounds of invisible tunnels torn
through the canopy of indifferent oaks.
Perhaps it was them I saw, the scoundrels,
casting their lures in the middle of February,
hoping to snag the swans parked at the rim
of the flooded bog's unfreezing pupil.
He shot his family with a twenty-two
not long after debarking the bus from school,
