Hats off to Barry Ritholtz as he has posted the most entertaining and evocative post regarding this BS that is currently amiss in our “free-market” system…
Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke are scheduled to testify today before Congress on their massive bailout program.
Here are some questions I would like to hear asked:
1. You two gentlemen have been wrong about the Housing crisis, missed the leverage problem, and understated the derivative issue. Indeed, you two have been wrong about nearly everything since this crisis began years ago. Why should we trust your judgment on the largest bailout in American history?
2. How are you pricing the purchase of these damaged assets? Is the taxpayer paying 22 cents on the dollar? 5.5 cents? If there is no market for this junk to determine price, what determines the purchase price?
3. Are you now, or have you ever been a short seller? Do you think short selling ban is a smart move? What does this mean to our concept of free trading markets?
4. In the nationalization of AIG, the US taxpayer received 80% of the company. What is the taxpayer getting for their money in this $700B bailout?
5. You have said that the Housing correction is the root cause of market stability. What about leverage — how significant was that as a root cause?
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