tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6511873417078060738.post5447953002518431214..comments2023-07-29T11:21:42.125-04:00Comments on Brooklyn Book Talk: Thomas Jefferson and the Financial AristocracyWebAppshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15408390036751112286noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6511873417078060738.post-46232922795823175052012-02-02T13:05:36.096-05:002012-02-02T13:05:36.096-05:00Hah, Italy demonstrators rally against BerlusconiHah, Italy demonstrators rally against BerlusconiAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6511873417078060738.post-59349720160810237062012-02-02T01:45:59.120-05:002012-02-02T01:45:59.120-05:00Hey folks, Could be the U.S. a lot much better off...Hey folks, Could be the U.S. a lot much better off keeping Syria's Assad?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6511873417078060738.post-2937615655767227192010-06-21T20:30:12.359-04:002010-06-21T20:30:12.359-04:00I think that the bailouts were a mistake. The end...I think that the bailouts were a mistake. The end result was the maintenance of institutions that were not able to competently sustain themselves. While the pain would be considerable, it would have been better in the long run to allow the system to purge itself. The bailout has not dissuaded large financial companies from avoiding questionable financial transactions. They now know that the Fed will take care of them, as long as they stay large enough to be too big too fail.Adam12noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6511873417078060738.post-78433271680938958812010-06-10T18:43:53.471-04:002010-06-10T18:43:53.471-04:00I don't think concentrated private financial p...I don't think concentrated private financial power is necessarily a threat to democracy. I believe a reasonable balance of power between government and financial institutions can be formed. However, that process is easily corrupted by lobbying and other flaws in the U.S. political process. I believe that the bailout was necessary. Ironically, the success of the bailout is a primary reason why more stringent financial reforms have not come out of Congress. The bailout prevented a deep, ongoing crisis like the Depression. Without a crisis of that magnitude staring the public and the government in the face, it is difficult to muster the political will to overcome the forces that want to maintain the status quo. We might look to the Canadian model of tightly governed, state-supported banks as a basis of comparison to our system. While I don't espouse that model, I would look to it to identify improvements in risk management and governance that might prevent a repeat of 2008.Larry M.noreply@blogger.com