tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4223398383609158624.post525130839237333434..comments2024-02-24T00:37:43.087-05:00Comments on The Other McCain: Don't blame greedRobert Stacy McCainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03084541621503669804noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4223398383609158624.post-43397856437499987932008-11-24T18:02:00.000-05:002008-11-24T18:02:00.000-05:00Oh yah.Leveraging the risk at 30x was a regulatory...Oh yah.<BR/><BR/>Leveraging the risk at 30x was a regulatory problem rather than piggishness beyond the dreams of avarice.Dad29https://www.blogger.com/profile/08554276286736923821noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4223398383609158624.post-46412135149184069972008-11-24T13:24:00.000-05:002008-11-24T13:24:00.000-05:00I agree with the author regarding "unfettered capi...I agree with the author regarding "unfettered capitalism" and "deregulation", as the present mess was caused by anything but. However, on "greed", I have to depart with him. Greed is so deeply engrained in human nature, and someone is going to have a very tough time convincing me that those who made the bad loans only to turn around and sell them almost instantaneously were doing so out of altruism. Ditto for those investment banking houses that cobbled together a bunch of sub-prime mortgages and sold them as AAA rated bonds. <BR/><BR/>Michael Lewis has a great piece on what happened here:<BR/><BR/>http://www.portfolio.com/news-markets/national-news/portfolio/2008/11/11/The-End-of-Wall-Streets-Boom?print=true<BR/><BR/>Capitalism is a great system, but that doesn't mean it should be above criticism (and in fact, it works best when subject to constructive criticism as a feedback mechanism). We do ourselves no favors when we deny that greed is a part of any bubble like the one that just burst, even when the federal government created conditions (e.g., CRA, the moral hazard of previous bailouts, etc.) that enabled such greed to get out of control. In fact, this should be a lesson to both the feds and the electorate at large that, when you create situations like this where greed can run rampant, it always will, and the end result won't be pretty.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4223398383609158624.post-68755199370164223912008-11-24T12:42:00.000-05:002008-11-24T12:42:00.000-05:00My father defined an expert as a son of a bitch wi...My father defined an expert as a son of a bitch with a briefcase from out of town.Pacohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15109060772791266700noreply@blogger.com