tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11719208.post1916012972282412399..comments2023-11-05T04:36:14.223-08:00Comments on The Mess That Greenspan Made: Dean Baker does not ♥ Ben BernankeTimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16530974968126497397noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11719208.post-91644469040818394552009-12-13T13:29:43.315-08:002009-12-13T13:29:43.315-08:00I thought it was interesting that Baker bought a h...I thought it was interesting that Baker bought a house over the summer after having sold his three or four years ago.Timhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16530974968126497397noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11719208.post-22060909931768337672009-12-13T07:38:05.503-08:002009-12-13T07:38:05.503-08:00«guess that a lot of other economists did see it, ...«guess that a lot of other economists did see it, but spoke of it in euphemistic terms or not all»<br /><br />Put another way: the majority of economists who are publicists are sell-side economists. There are buy-side economists, but they either don't go public or keep mum. Baker is a buy-side economist who also goes public because he is an idealist (most likely), or he has realized that he ha no chance anyhow to get the generous rewards awarded to the more useful sell-side economists.Blissexnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11719208.post-11251001017798008462009-12-13T07:20:54.027-08:002009-12-13T07:20:54.027-08:00«Baker is one of the astronomically small percenta...«Baker is one of the astronomically small percentage of economists who have some sort of an odd physiological makeup - perhaps a misplaced gene somewhere - that allows them to actually see asset bubbles in real time.»<br /><br />I would guess that a lot of other economists did see it, but spoke of it in euphemistic terms or not all, because creating huge notional capital gains was government policy to redistribute income from those with less assets to those with more assets, a policy which was enthusiastically endorsed by most voters.<br /><br />It is not coincidence that very similar bubbles have been increasingly happening regularly since 1985 or so (with a "hockey stick" starting in 1995), and in many countries where desperate baby boomers just want to MAKE MONEY FAST to enjoy a luxurious retirement via huge government engineered capital gains.Blissexnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11719208.post-16634221952213827372009-12-09T16:44:03.483-08:002009-12-09T16:44:03.483-08:00The central bank caused this crises with too much ...The central bank caused this crises with too much printing. Their theories make no sense.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11719208.post-75102241785540487972009-12-09T12:45:00.785-08:002009-12-09T12:45:00.785-08:00Slightly OT, but it is part of a bolded sentence a...Slightly OT, but it is part of a bolded sentence above:<br /><br />While Hurricane Katrina was indeed a weather phenomenon, the disaster was as manmade as the current financial crisis.<br /><br />The federal government through the Army Corps of Engineers is responsible for the failure of the levee system in New Orleans, as well as the destruction of the Mississippi Delta wetlands that historically protected the city from severe weather.<br /><br />It is unfortunate that Dean Baker is repeating this untruth.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com