Advertisement

April 23, 2010

Best Financial Reform? Let Bankers Fail

James Grant, Washington Post


AP Photo

 

The trouble with Wall Street isn't that too many bankers get rich in the booms. The trouble, rather, is that too few get poor -- really, suitably poor -- in the busts. To the titans of finance go the upside. To we, the people, nowadays, goes the downside. How much better it would be if the bankers took the losses just as they do the profits.

Happily, there's a ready-made and time-tested solution. Let the senior financiers keep their salaries and bonuses, and let them do with their banks what they will. If, however, their bank fails, let the bankers themselves fail. Let the value of their houses, cars, yachts, paintings, etc. be assigned to the firm's creditors.

 

Read Full Article ››

Related Topics: finance, economy

RECOMMENDED ARTICLES

May 5, 2012
GOP Austerity is Shackling the Economy
Joan Walsh, Salon

Republicans have made it official: “The wealthy” must be called “the job creators” in any debate about tax policy. Democrats are playing their own word games: Centrists insist the 2012 campaign... more ››

May 5, 2012
What Should U.S. Learn From Europe?
Ezra Klein, Washington Post

Europe is a mess. But it’s a peculiar mess that both the left and the right think validates everything they’ve been saying about what we should — and shouldn’t — do here in the United... more ››

May 5, 2012
Weak Job Numbers Become Instant Campaign Fodder
Mark Landler, NYT

WASHINGTON — Mitt Romney responded to Friday’s weaker-than-expected job numbers with a sweeping denunciation, declaring it a “terrible and very disappointing report” — evidence of an economy that is... more ››

May 5, 2012
The GOP's Chutzpah on the Jobs Report
Alec MacGillis, The New Republic

Tucked inside this morning’s lackluster monthly jobs report is a remarkable figure: the economy is back to a net positive for the number of private sector jobs created since the start of 2009. That is, even with the... more ››

|