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Three Thoughts on the Bailout Switcheroo and Bogus Credit Crunch

(1) Isn’t this hilarious that the $700 billion “Troubled Asset Relief Program” contains all sorts of money for various companies–here’s a partial list–but not one thin dime for troubled asset relief? (2) So how do all those fools who were running around saying how much money the taxpayers were going to make on these purchases […]

Paulson on His Bailout: The Ol’ Switcheroo

So you know how it was a little weird that Paulson initially asked for $700 billion to buy dubious mortgage-backed securities and other assets, and then very quickly changed course and said they needed to use some of the money to “recapitalize” troubled banks? And then remember that the first $125 billion got injected into […]

Consumers Don’t Cause Recessions

Ah, I have outdone myself in this one. You know how you’ve wanted someone to rip apart the “circular flow diagram” for years? Well, enjoy. Learn it. Live it. Love it. Here’s an excerpt for those readers who are “busy” and need a hint before clicking a link: In his discussion of the “paradox of […]

A Reader Shares Her Airline Tax Story

Reader Lisa M. emailed to tell of her ordeal with the FAA / American Airlines. I’m not sure how much good it will do to publicize this, but I was stunned by the story (which seems real, e.g. the electronic receipt looked authentic) and so I am passing it along. The following is her letter […]

Peter Klein Stands Up for the Small Businessman[woman]

Peter Klein wants consumers to stop gouging gas station owners. (HT2 Steve Horwitz) Please join me in support for poor, beleaguered gas station owners, the victims of unconscionable price gouging by ruthless consumers who are taking advantage of market conditions to reduce their demand for gasoline, driving down the price by nearly $2 per gallon […]

Clemens & Murphy: Government, not Market, to Blame for Financial Crisis

Another PG article for ya. The thing that’s pretty neat in this one, is that I worked in a “cite” to YouTube. I haven’t seen too many op ed writers use this particular technique, but I think it will grow more popular over time.

The Other Economist Robert Murphy

…is calling for more looting of taxpayers: “We need another stimulus package, and we need to do it in a way that is decisive, with a huge amount of resources,” said Robert Murphy, a Boston College economics professor. “Sooner is definitely better than later.” I have probably already used this joke before, but I wonder […]

Bloomberg (the company) Sues the Fed

This is rather interesting: Bloomberg News asked a U.S. court today to force the Federal Reserve to disclose securities the central bank is accepting on behalf of American taxpayers as collateral for $1.5 trillion of loans to banks. The lawsuit is based on the U.S. Freedom of Information Act, which requires federal agencies to make […]