2/2 Stiglitz, Professor Joseph - Nobel Prize winning economist

Troubles ahead for world economy
http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2010/s2965891.htm
Broadcast: 27/07/2010
Reporter: Kerry O'Brien

51 economists back Labor's stimulus spend
SMH, August 16, 2010 - 3:57PM
http://tinyurl.com/38eexvk

KERRY O'BRIEN: Well President Obama said no longer will that be allowed to happen, where the banks are too big to fail. Now is that true?

JOSEPH STIGLITZ: No. I mean - and that statement was, to me, the biggest disappointment: his overselling what had been accomplished. What we did in the bill is to say, "The Government has more powers." But the issue isn't powers. If you're too big to fail, government will bail you out and it will bail out the shareholders and the bondholders.

KERRY O'BRIEN: Can the whole thing happen again?

JOSEPH STIGLITZ: It can and it almost surely will happen again, because we didn't deal with the problem of too-big-to-fail banks. It is one of the reasons why it will happen again. And we didn't really deal effectively with all the kinds of excessive risk-taking, all the problems of lack of transparency that were at the core of this crisis. And so, yes, we understand what the issues are, we understand the issues better than we did three years ago, but politics intruded the power of the banks, was too great. They're making $20 billion off of derivatives. So rather than lending, they're engaged in all of these kinds of gambling and excessive risk-taking and generating large profits, but it's not helping the American economy and it's putting at risk American taxpayers.

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[Ranger4564]

If you don't call this the utter failure of the capitalist system to address human wants / needs, then I don't know what catastrophic situation people are waiting for, before they abandon this ponzi scheme and acknowledge they were wrong, the capitalist system is nothing but a scheme to take money from many to transfer it to the few, with no real benefit to society. This system sucks in every way. What is profitable is not necessarily beneficial. Unethical behavior is rewarded.

[jerepah]

@Ranger4564 Why'd Reagan allow the removal of the Glass-Steagall Act which permitted this GFC to happen? Remember FDR and the Great Depression? Removing Glass-Steagall has proved a boon for Goldman Sachs, the Rockefellers et al elites etc. When's that Fed Reserve transparent audit happening that Ron Paul and Alan Grayson were trying to get off the ground?

[jgarzilli]

@jerepah insightful exchange above, a rarity on youtube. One slight correction though; it was Clinton who signed the legislation that dissolved Glass-Steagall (Telecommunications Act of '95-'96). I don't think it's purely the Capitalist system that's to blame for the current economic crisis. It's more the interpretation/execution of "Modern American Capitalism" as it has been practiced for the last 30 years. Cliche as it sounds, a balance between "free" markets and regulation is what's needed.

[jerepah]

@jgarzilli thanks and i dare say you're right.

[KrugmanTheKing]

@acousticonlyforever

Of course, there are sensible people on the right... they just act like fascist and impose reckless bills which would make the judiciary system worst off. Not to mention it won't prevent abortions, it will just make sure our young girls will risk their lives in worst conditions.

Imposing those things is like asking that problems become less transparent and that solutions become less accessible which means the proportion of sensible choices risk to decrease.

[KrugmanTheKing]

@acousticonlyforever

In Canada, the Conservatives passed a bill to de-regulate certain firearms which means you can now buy guns and not be listed. They now want to open the debate on abortion... Talk about idiots. Of course, Canada has not messed up as much as the US, but it's still striking we hear about those stupid things.

That's what happens when you go too far right: a bunch of clueless morons direct your nation and they won't adjust their measures to reality.

[KrugmanTheKing]

@JesterinLondon

Ron Paul won't push for intervention... and we all know he's not an economist, far from. You don't want a loose head who can't use freshman macro models to direct the world's biggest economy, especially not when his predictions doesn't correspond to reality and that what he advocates is contrary to a confidence worthy textbook.

Republicans and Dems currently push for doctrines, not science. Obama is just the less worst of two bad options.

[JesterinLondon]

There is only one man who can challenge the status quo! Ron Paul! You have the choice between pretty speeches and armageddon or a decisive turn around.

IT is all in our hands....Ron Paul 2012 !

[acousticonlyforever]

my apology

[danbuck333]

@acousticonlyforever Im sorry, is your comment meant to be directed at me? because if it is then it doesnt make any sense

[acousticonlyforever]

where i live the large banks are not lending money even to those with very good FICO scores. housing market is at a stand still here not because there are no buyers but because those buyers cannot get mortgage loans. large banks are investing money instead of loaning it. i went up to montreal last week. housing market is booming. shopping malls full of people. canadian dollar is at par with u.s. dollar. not bad for our demonized socialist neighbor to the north.

[acousticonlyforever]

what hamlet do you live in? the u.s. goov't wastes all it's energy on abortion, gay rights, immigration, healthcare, etc. that all other idustrialized nations have resolved and are able to move forward in adressing real issues. the problem is the u.s gov't' is not involved in solving the problems facing this nation. travel outside the u.s.a. other countries are doing okay compared to here.