Although Fox anchors and pundits like Ben Stein laughed him off, guest economic analyst Peter Schiffer accurately, and repeatedly, predicted a collapse of the financial markets:
About ten minutes long. If you have trouble with embeds, watch on Youtube here.
h/t Andrew Sullivan
BTW, I won’t be disabling comments. :-)
After the break Michael Lewis, who exposed Wall Street shenanigans in Liar’s Poker, talks about the current crisis.
The Office of the President-Elect?
Obama Pushes for $50 Billion for Automakers, Oversight Czar
By injecting himself into the talks about how to save General Motors, Obama is making an exception to his decision to steer clear of policy-making until he takes office.
The president-elect also wants the Federal Reserve to extend emergency loans to General Motors, Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC, according to Obama aides who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The failure of those companies would likely bring down parts-makers, dealerships and suppliers in addition to inflicting a deep psychological blow.
If the plan were to offer no strong guarantees against layoffs it would likely draw fire from unions. But Obama advisers have been persuaded that the impact on current workers and retirees would be staggering if the companies went into bankruptcy.
Any auto czar or committee would presumably have the job of overseeing a restructuring of the auto industry.
With the right sort of restructuring, I’d be in favor of providing guaranteed loans, much as was done with Chrysler.
Update 2:G.M.’s Troubles Stir Question of Bankruptcy vs. a Bailout
But not everyone agrees that a Chapter 11 filing by G.M. would be the disaster that many fear. Some experts note that while bankruptcy would be painful, it may be preferable to a government bailout that may only delay, at considerable cost, the wrenching but necessary steps G.M. needs to take to become a stronger, leaner company.
Although G.M.’s labor contracts would be at risk of termination in a bankruptcy, setting up a potential confrontation with its unions, the company says its pension obligations are largely financed for its 479,000 retirees and their spouses.
Shareholders have already lost much of the equity that would disappear in a bankruptcy case. Shares of G.M. rose 16 cents Wednesday, to $3.08, but they have fallen 90.5 percent over the last 12 months, amid sharply lower auto sales and fears about G.M.’s future.
And as companies in industries like airlines, steel and retailing have shown, bankruptcy can offer a fresh start with a more competitive cost structure to preserve a future for the workers who remain.
Americans get our kicks on Route 66 and regard the anywhere, anytime road trip as part of our modern birthright, but will our love affair with the automobile continue? The Big Three automakers alternate between inattentive and needy, and we’ve turned a cold shoulder to their showrooms lately, but Democratic lawmakers and some TPM commenters cringe at the spectre of millions of unemployed auto industry workers. And so does President-elect Obama. The Wall Street Journal says Obama trade adviser Daniel Tarullo will, “lead the auto-company transition efforts” (transition efforts?), while Automotive News (sub) is already calling him the Car Czar. What are the Big 2.8 transitioning to, and what will Obama have to promise Bush to bail out Detroit before Congress goes on another well-deserved vacation?
Democrats Plot Detroit Rescue (sub)
The president-elect doesn’t want to take office Jan. 20 with the auto industry — long the backbone of the nation’s industry — in a shambles, according to aides. “He wants to prevent a situation like Lehman, where you flail yourself into an uncontrolled bankruptcy,” a senior Obama aide said Tuesday, referring to the sudden and damaging collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. “This can’t wait until Jan. 20.”
Dan Tarullo, a Georgetown University law professor and a top Obama adviser on trade, has been appointed to lead the auto-company transition efforts, according to Rep. Sander Levin (D., Mich.), a key lawmaker involved. Obama aides said Mr. Tarullo is one of a number of advisers assigned to the issue. Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm and former Michigan Rep. David Bonior have been given prominent seats at the table.
Chinadialogue reprints a campaign speech:
What will a Barack Obama presidency mean for the global environment?
In a policy address delivered in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, in October 2007 - shortly after George W Bush hosted a Washington conference on energy security and climate change — Obama set out his plan. It included a strong focus on energy efficiency and the use of a “cap-and-trade” system. Obama also emphasised his commitment to investing in clean technology, saying that new technology from the United States can help countries like China to fight climate change.
“[W]e will share our technology and our innovations with all the nations of the world,” Obama said. “If we can build a clean coal plant in America, China should be able to as well.”
…
“There are some in this [presidential election] race who actually make the argument that the more time you spend immersed in the broken politics of Washington, the more likely you are to change it. I always find this a little amusing. I know that change makes for good campaign rhetoric, but when these same people had the chance to actually make change happen, they didn’t lead. When they had the chance to stand up and require automakers to raise their fuel standards, they refused. When they had multiple chances to reduce our dependence on foreign oil by investing in renewable fuels that we can literally grow right here in America, they said no.”
“Now, I know that some of these policies are difficult politically. They aren’t easy. But being president of the United States isn’t about doing what’s easy. It’s about doing what’s hard. It’s about doing what’s right. Leadership isn’t about telling people what they want to hear - it’s about telling them what they need to hear.”
Besides the auto workers and their pensions, there are millions of jobs downstream at stake. Assuming he can, should Obama try to rescue all or any of these companies? I know what I think, I’m just curious what you think.
Update: Hat tip to pilakia’s Deep Thought post for Why Would You Bail Out an Industry This Stupid?
Update 2: Hat tip to Daily Dish for link to Megan McArdle’s Invidious Comparisons.
Fed Defies Transparency Aim in Refusal to Disclose
The Federal Reserve is refusing to identify the recipients of almost $2 trillion of emergency loans from American taxpayers or the troubled assets the central bank is accepting as collateral.
Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said in September they would comply with congressional demands for transparency in a $700 billion bailout of the banking system. Two months later, as the Fed lends far more than that in separate rescue programs that didn’t require approval by Congress, Americans have no idea where their money is going or what securities the banks are pledging in return.
…
Bloomberg News has requested details of the Fed lending under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act and filed a federal lawsuit Nov. 7 seeking to force disclosure.
Update: Will.i.am sings A New Day h/t Daily Dish
Something for the Xmas list:
A Nation of Farmers: Defeating the Food Crisis on American Soil (Paperback) Sharon Astyk
Once we could fill our grocery carts with cheap and plentiful food, but not anymore. Cheap food has gone the way of cheap oil. Climate change is already reducing crop yields worldwide. The cost of flying in food from far away and shipping it across the country in refrigerated trucks is rapidly becoming unviable. Cars and cows increasingly devour grain harvests, sending prices skyrocketing. More Americans than ever before require food stamps and food pantries just to get by, and a worldwide food crisis is unfolding, overseas and in our kitchens.
We can keep hunger from stalking our families, but doing so will require a fundamental shift in our approach to field and table. A Nation of Farmers examines the limits and dangers of the globalized food system and shows how returning to the basics is our best hope. The book includes in-depth guidelines for:
- Creating resilient local food systems
- Growing, cooking, and eating sustainably and naturally
- Becoming part of the solution to the food crisis
The book argues that we need to make self-provisioning, once the most ordinary of human activities, central to our lives. The results will be better food, better health, better security, and freedom from corporations that don’t have our interests at heart.
This is critical reading for anyone who eats and cares about high-quality food.
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