Monday, October 6, 2008

Spitzer's Fault?

Only half tongue in cheek, was Eliot Spitzer a proximate cause of the current economic turmoil?

Consider his weakening of the investment banks (leading them to take on riskier strategies to maintain earnings), targeting of AIG (leading to the ouster of its CEO – the one man who could keep Financial Products in line), and failure to limit mortgage lending fraud and abuses (items more appropriately with a state AG’s mandate).

And then the consequences: Lehman’s bankruptcy, Bear’s bailout, Merrill’s merger, AIG’s nationalization, and today’s frozen credit markets.

2 comments:

Paul said...

Did Gasparino read my blog entry? http://www.nypost.com/seven/04202009/postopinion/opedcolumnists/blame_spitzer_165277.htm?&page=0

Paul said...

Or the WSJ? http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124709677873215085.html#mod=todays_us_opinion