Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Not Learning Our Lessons

The last financial crisis isn't over, but we might as well start getting ready for the next one. Sorry to be gloomy, but there it is. Why? Here are 10 reasons.
1. We are learning the wrong lessons from the last one.
2. No one has been punished.
3. The incentives remain crooked.
4. The referees are corrupt.
5. Stocks are skyrocketing again.
6. The derivatives time bomb is bigger than ever - and ticking away.
7. The ancient regime is in the saddle.
8. Ben Bernanke doesn't understand his job.
9. We are levering up like crazy.
10. The real economy remains in the tank.
You know what George Santayana said about people who forget the past. But we're even dumber than that. We are doomed to repeat the past not because we have forgotten it but because we never learned the lessons to begin with.

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