Economics 101: Sam gives an excellent history lesson, beginning with the Great Depression, the cause of which led to the Glass-Steagall Act. Meanwhile, the markets and banks rocked along with the additional oversight of the S.E.C. until the Glass-Steagall Act was repealed, and certain opaque collateralized debt obligations were allowed to be sold to "sophistocated investors" without their knowing the precise make-up of the various packages.
Result: the current disaster, compounded by the feds cutting interest rates. You must listen to this segment, in which Sam also explains Joseph Mason and Josua Rosner's publication exposing the very ugly underbelly of the rich wall street goons, pointing to Pam Martens comments on this horrendous debacle without consequences to those who have caused it. Apparently it's so ugly that Congress is afraid to hold hearings, despite being fore-warned for almost a year. H-m-m-m-m-m.
The Fallout: Three thoughtful pieces are right on point here. Learn with us through Dave Lindorff's "Hard Times A-Coming- The Bush Dollar Trap", published Monday in
www.informationclearinghouse.info , Justin Lahart's "A Recession, If It Comes, Could Be Worse Than Those of Recent Past", published Tuesday in the Wall Street Journal, and Paul Craig Roberts' "Neither Supply-Side Theory Nor Keynesian Remedies Can Save Us Now", appearing Tuesday in
www.counterpunch.org. Bottom line- it's not going to be quick and painless, particularly when the props collapse. Get ready.
Politics: Are there any real choices? Should those attacked fight back? Do the good guys have any chance at all? We have some comments here, and discuss Shankar Vedantam's " ' Attraction Effect' Helps Voters Pick From the Pack" , published Monday in the Washington Post in the process. This piece outlines a fascinating theory on how candidates inadvertently help others with similar views. Could make a difference for those back in the pack- we'll see.
We'll be back on Monday, January 28 unless we're not. Thanks for your continuing support.
