November 14, 2009

Not Too Big to Fail

By Ben T. Briscoe
Recently the government released figures for third-quarter economic growth, celebrating a whooping 3.5% GDP increase. The market rallied as the Dow climbed above 10,000. According to a Wall Street Journal report, the White House announced the creation of 640,000 new jobs thanks to the stimulus package. Is all the hoopla just an overly optimistic, time-calculated cheerleading exercise right before the elections, or is this "recovery" real? Last fall, the mortgage meltdown and other factors caused the economy began to tank, and with it, many bank loans went from stale to toxic. TARP's injection of capital was designed to as a financial lifeline to help banks to stay afloat -- especially the larger banks, because their failure would be devastating to the national economy. So the concept of "Too Big To Fail" was born, and it was subsidized by the American taxpayer. From every quarter, concern and fear reverberated.But along with the American obsession for instant...(Read Full Article)