Thursday, January 13, 2011

Financial Crisis Post-Mortem

Economists noted the fact
That the big banks continue intact
By taking on debt,
Which, lest we forget,
Is implicitly government-backed.

At the 2011 American Economic Association annual meeting, leading economists - including MIT's Simon Johnson, co-author of "13 Bankers" - opined that financial reform had not done much to reduce the dangers posed by "too big to fail" banks.  Such banks maximize the amount of their debt financing because, due to the market's inference of a government guarantee, it is unnaturally cheap.  Similarly threatening are Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac which, Johnson said, "should be euthanized as soon as possible."

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