Oct 29 Is it correct to assume that the credit crisis is mostly psychological? Question/Comment: Is it correct to assume that the credit crisis is mostly psychological? Banks hold bad paper which needs to be exposed and somehow that debt needs to be paid or securitized again, so that banks regain confidence in other… Continue reading
Oct 28 If the inflation rate is calculated too low, will the economy seem to be growing when it is not? Question/Comment: I am wondering if the government is calculating the inflation rate correctly. If the inflation rate is calculated too low, will the economy seem to be growing when it is not? Is there any measure of how accurate the… Continue reading
Oct 27 The government hopes the $700 billion bailout will get banks to lend again. Why not require them to do so? Question/Comment: So the government hopes the $700 billion bailout will get banks to lend again. Why not require them to do so? According to the Wall Street Journal some of the banks are using the money for possible acquisitions, for… Continue reading
Oct 27 Now that governments have to inject billions into world banks, do you think monetary policy should be adjusted to better maintain a balance between currency in circulation and bank funds? Question/Comment: The ratio between commercial bank money and currency in circulation has been widening for decades. While the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy has protected our economy from runaway inflation, it may have been starving the market for currency. Now that… Continue reading
Oct 23 If America is losing money, who’s gaining? Does there have to be balance? Question/Comment: If the world today has all the same resources it had yesterday and America is losing money there must be someone somewhere gaining from this crisis in order for there to be a balance. Am I right? If I… Continue reading
Oct 23 If this is a “financial storm”, are we in the “eye of the hurricane”? Question/Comment: Paul, I record the NewsHour and just saw your — shall we say “sobering” — conversation. I was reminded of a radio interview — probably on NPR — I heard (while driving) sometime… Continue reading
Oct 23 What does the current crisis say about communism and capitalism? Question/Comment: The difference between Communism and Capitalism is one could admit that it was wrong. It seems greed is the ultimate downfall of Capitalism and ironically one of its founding precepts. With all the nationalizing going on, maybe it’s time… Continue reading
Oct 23 Can temporary total nationalization avoid the doomsday scenario? Question/Comment: Paul, I benefit from your explanations of complicated ideas, especially, the financial woes we’re now encountering. I wonder, however, why the doomsday scenario posed by the author of The Black Swan cannot be avoided by the government nationalizing the… Continue reading
Oct 22 In Case You Missed It: Top Theorists Examine Rippling Economic Turbulence Editor’s Note: You can watch or read a transcript of Paul Solman’s October 21 report with economist Nassim Nicholas Taleb and his mentor, mathematician Benoit Mandelbrot, here. Nassim Nicholas Taleb’s 2007 book is titled: The Black Swan: The… Continue reading
Oct 21 When the Treasury Department is repaid the money it lent, shouldn’t that be used to pay down the national debt? Question/Comment: When the day comes that the banks and other financial institutions start to repay the vast amounts of money that have been borrowed by the Treasury Department, shouldn’t that money be used to pay down the additional national debt… Continue reading