The big things remaining now from the legacy of Bush are the banks, and how to let them gently down to the ground in ways that won’t break the limited Federal capacity. Undoubtedly the banks themselves are the strongest political force in this equation, with everybody in the establishment interdependently existing with everybody else. In a way for me it’s encouraging to see the same debates going on about nationalization: I didn’t miss much since Obama’s speech.
There may be more stimulus actions. The recession is about halfway through now, with another 15 months to run perhaps, according to Roubini. Watch the clip here – I especially like his point, not very well transcribed into the article, about marking down a whole swath of toxic mortgages in face-value reductions across the board, rather than allowing foreclosures. He likens this to a Chapter 11-style reorganization, which would be a better situation, paradoxically, versus a Chapter 7-style shutdown, where everybody loses: homeowner, bank, economy.
I’ll try to post a resource piece about the banking situation, but I can’t promise too much because I really want to move on to the crucial issues at hand, the areas where I’ve been wanting all along to devote my energies, namely the ways and means of slowing and reversing climate change, and of transforming the global economy into a sustainable economy.
