Saving the Middle Class Rejected in Favor of Saving the Banks
In the preface to Transparency Games, I asked why did the US surrender to Wall Street on September 23, 2008. It has taken... Read More
Are We Prepared for the Next Financial Crisis?
As the flood of articles on the tenth anniversary of the collapse of Lehman Brothers continues, a common question has emerged: are... Read More
Control Over Financial Crisis Narrative Strictly Enforced
One of the defining features of the financial crisis since the 2008 acute phase began with Lehman Brothers’ collapse is how tightly... Read More
What Kind of Financial System Do We Want?
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As journalists and columnists continue to churn out articles on the tenth anniversary of Lehman Brothers’ collapse, it is worth pointing out... Read More
The Battle for Financial Stability
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You cannot win the battle for financial stability until you know what causes financial instability (aka financial crises). But not knowing hasn’t... Read More
Debunking the Committee to Save the Banks’ Narrative
Ten years ago the Committee to Save the Banks (Paulson, Bernanke and Geithner) began offering up a false, self-serving narrative to justify... Read More
Populism and Bank Bailouts
In September 2008, I observed saving the existing banks was completely unnecessary. Why? One of the important roles the banks play in... Read More
Lehman Collapse Highlights Role of Opacity in Bank Runs
Opacity is a necessary condition for a bank run. In the case of Lehman Brothers, not only was the investment bank opaque,... Read More
IMF Says Opacity at “Core” of Financial Crisis
As the tenth anniversary of the collapse of Lehman Brothers approaches, articles are poring forth offering up the author’s take on the... Read More
Why Has So Little Changed Since Lehman Failed in 2008?
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The Financial Times’ Martin Wolf looked at the response to the Great Financial Crisis and discovered the problem with Committee to Save... Read More
Capitalism’s Near-Death Experience Is Still a Golden Opportunity
The tenth anniversary of the Committee to Save the Banks’ decision to put Wall Street ahead of Main Street has unleashed a... Read More
Turns Out Surrendering to Wall Street in 2008 Was a Bad Idea
It has taken a decade, but the Committee to Save the Banks’ decision to surrender to Wall Street is finally being seen... Read More
Rating Firms Continue to Put Investors at Risk by Rating Unseen Contents of Paper Bags
Moody’s announced it was dropping its unpaid for and unsolicited rating on WeWork’s bonds saying it believes it has insufficient or otherwise... Read More
Central Banks Shape the Financial Markets
While plenty is written about the central banks as bank supervisors or macro-prudential regulators, virtually nothing is written about central banks as... Read More
Senator Warren’s Call to Drain the DC Swamp
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A tremor went through the Opacity Protection Team today when Senator Elizabeth Warren called for ending its capture of the process by... Read More