I was not at all surprised when I saw the following headline at WSJ.com: “Political Interference Seen in Bank Bailout Decisions”.
The story reads much as you might expect. Congressman lobby hard to ensure that money from the hastily implemented TARP program is routed to favorite banks. While precise economic criteria for government handouts might be lacking, and the worthiness of the recipient may be in doubt, a tight geographic correlation between representative and recipient may be ominously present.
I did however find this gem pertaining to OneUnited Bank in the articles closing paragraphs:
[Rep. Barney] Frank said he didn’t try to interfere with the regulatory process. “We have never told the regulators that they should ease up on them or not order them to do this or that,” he said.
He cites the bank’s status as the state’s only financial institution owned by African-Americans. “We did say, yes, I thought it would have been a social tragedy if the one minority bank in Massachusetts that has been working so hard and had been overextended into housing was to be wiped out by a federal action, the Fannie-Freddie preferred [shares] thing, and that’s why I think it was important to try to help them.”
And thus, a new* category of distressed enterprises is created.
- k
Nicholas Kristof had this excellent op-ed in the New York Times last week. In it Kristof warns the incoming administration against pressing for labor standards reforms in developing countries. In short: sweatshops may not be ideal places to work, but they are often far better than the relevant employment alternatives.
Assuming reform minded politicians mean well (its possible that many know better, but misrepresent the issue for political gain), they would better serve the individuals for whom they advocate by liberalizing trade and hoping for the creation of even more sweatshops. In the United States, India, and China – competition for labor among sweatshops has inevitably lead to greater employment, improving labor conditions and increasing wages.
-k
http://www.blackbirdhome.com - The encumbrance of black skin has apparently grown so great - that one can no longer use a racially agnostic version of FireFox.
I’ll pass.
-k
This is me cautiously dipping my big toe in the pool.
One establishes a blog for a multitude of reasons. If you’re sufficiently narcissistic, its not at all difficult to convince yourself that such an enterprise is worthwhile. With blogging, the barriers to entry are low enough that any chump with thumbs and a dial up connection can participate.
Whether or not anyone visits, I’ll behave as if everyone on the planet is paying close attention. And while I can’t promise that every post will be grammatically correct, I’ll always strive to be honest, fair, intriguing and where appropriate, merciless.
- k
