Ben Bernanke and Hank Paulson spoke Monday to alternatively discuss the need for another economic stimulus package and make the case for the bailout efforts taken to date.
Many issues about the rescue plan and the economy remain unanswered, but a more fundamental question remains: Are the Fed chairman and Treasury secretary up to the job?
A resounding "no" is the answer from Christopher Whalen, managing director at Institutional Risk Analytics, who is particularly critical of Paulson.
The Treasury secretary is "grotesquely conflicted" in his efforts to bail out his former employer, as detailed here, and has found "common cause" with an overly lenient Fed chairman.
"They have a bias to preserve the derivatives market" -- the riskiest part of Wall Street, Whalen says, noting the government let Lehman and Bear fail but bailed out AIG and (according to Whalen) rescued Goldman Sachs and Morgan -- at least for the time being.
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