- Worse Than The "Worst Case"

Average US unemployment 9.5%... higher in blue states and major metro areas. That's 1.5% worse than the Treasury department's 'worst case'.


I don't have time for a full post on this today, but I wanted to toss out my current 'ad infinitum' talking point that my friends and the guys I work with are getting sick of hearing me say:

"Before this is over, it will turn to have been cheaper and more effective to let all the banks fail. We could have pushed them into bankruptcy court to be bought by "First National Bank of Odessa" or some other regional bank at bargain basement prices. Then the people who acted foolishly would have lost... as it's supposed to be.

The rules of the game would have remained the same and the economy could have come roaring back in relatively short order. Instead we're doing the Japanese "dance of the dead" where we spend a decade figuring out new ways to pervert the system to benefit politicians, ACORN and the unions. And the private sector learns to live with high unemployment and low growth.

I reject the Fed and Treasury's position on 'systemic risk'. The people involved in the losses would have failed, and the bond and stock holders who believed their nonsense would have failed, but the companies could have come back more rapidly under new 'more prudent' management."