Comments on: Brooksley Born on PBS Frontline Tonight Talking About the Financial Crisis

By: number2son

number2son — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 13:19:27 +0000

Greenspan rejecting his Randian philosophy before a Congressional committee was a rare moment of high drama and will endure as a key moment in the history of this disaster.

That today the banks and Wall Street continue to do business as if nothing happened is a testament to the toxic influence of money in politics (in D.C., there are 5 lobbyists from the financial industry for every congress person). I don’t think Obama fully comprehends how his failure to enact genuine change has damaged his reputation among people who care about these issues. Is he counting on the fact that most people only pay attention to this stuff when they are hungry? As an enthusiastic supporter of his run for President last year, I am thoroughly disappointed.

By: FrancoisT

FrancoisT — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 12:57:47 +0000

In a culture that worship money and money makers, these outcomes cannot be surprising in the least. After all, money is how financiers keep score of who’s who in the pecking order, which is how worth and self-worth is socially defined within their club.

It is like corporations at large; they’ve completely lost sight of any fiduciary duties, including the much-touted shareholder value. What matters is the quarterly result,, the rest be damned.

As for Congress, (which did not play a small role in this debacle) I entirely subscribe to Mark Twain chosen quips about them. Just seeing Gramm’s fuckface pontificating like he did in the documentary was enough to remind me that Twain was way too generous about the Collective of Idiots they are. Bought and paid for, locks and barrels is an apt description.

I do not know of any civilization that has been able to stay prosperous on a long-term horizon with such a mindset. We are no different.

By: Moss

Moss — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 11:33:28 +0000

It should be no mystery as to how the culture of Wall Street lost all sense of ethical behavior.
The fact that Greenspan believed that fraud would be worked out by the market is the most stunning aspect of the whole drama and goes a long way in explaining how the unethical culture grew so wide and deep.

By: madman130

madman130 — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 11:30:40 +0000

Not trying to defend Greenspan or evil republicans. They deserve all the scorn.
I was pointing out that it was a just typical PBS/NPR presentation with bunch of predictable memes.

Greenspan is a pussy. He sort of blamed capitalism for his own failures. That’s why the bailout still seems so mind boggling. I would have liked to see all these big bankers sell their homes and their kids college funds to cover their losses. It would have been the ultimate punishment and in unfettered Capitalism that’s exactly would have happened.

By: franklin420d

franklin420d — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 06:37:19 +0000

TGCNBCSucks – Sorry I missed your previous post, this evening. Maybe you read this maybe you do not, who knows. I do not know Mr.Ritholtz and I am beginning to be glad I do not.

For him to allow someone of TuckFard Wangers character to call people names and high borrow them is not good form, but he does control the ink, so it is his rules.

I have two main theories on why he is allowing TuckFard Wanger to drive very good and decent people from his site, perhaps I can share them at some point.

This is Mr. Ritholtz sandbox he built it, but when he allows an asshat monkey like Wanger to call decent folks like Thor, Ahab, mannwich and others stupid or inept, does he believe the outcome will be mild?

Anyway as you may/may not know I am all about learning, sometimes faster then others, but I also know what my strengths are.

Thank you for calling out what you see and I will continue to do what I need to do.

And good luck this weekend.

By: dan10400

dan10400 — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 05:57:30 +0000

On a good note, the show seems to have peaked some interest – from google trends:

“brooksley born” 7th most popular search in the past hour.

Of course it is below people searching for meteor showers, custom bobble heads,
and somebody named kanye west who got in a car accident.

By: YourPortlandFinancialAdvisor

YourPortlandFinancialAdvisor — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 05:41:32 +0000

Frontline is in a league by itself. Watch the Obama’s War episode online, it’s equally insightful. You
can trash Levitt if you want, but the real rats avoid the camera completely.
I’m still waiting for the disgorgement of Rubin.

By: greenback

greenback — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 05:40:51 +0000

The amazing thing to me is that Born, and transparency, got shut down as LTCM was blowing up. LTCM was a 100-foot high neon sign that screamed “The financial markets needs some updated regulation!” To miss that big a sign does not speak well of either the intelligence or integrity (video of Phil Gramm was an appropriate choice) of our leaders in Washington.

By: Jim Greeen

Jim Greeen — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 05:34:47 +0000

To: madman130 Say:

What you say may very well be correct. But you cannot over look the Mia culpa from Greenspan at that Congressioal hearing shown at the end of the program. That was pretty stuning admission on his part.

Give a lot of validity to the idea that, in the end, when all is said and done, the proof really is in the pudding.

By: Melvis

Melvis — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 05:08:10 +0000

The depressing thing is that the same feckless cast of characters is still making the decisions and I have little confidence in them. Pessimists think the wind is never going to stop, the optimist is sure it will soon, the realist adjusts the sails.