WARNING: This is Version 1 of my old archive, so Photos will NOT work and many links will NOT work. But you can find articles by searching on the Titles. There is a lot of information in this archive. Use the SEARCH BAR at the top right. Prior to December 2012; I was a pro-Christian type of Conservative. I was unaware of the mass of Jewish lies in history, especially the lies regarding WW2 and Hitler. So in here you will find pro-Jewish and pro-Israel material. I was definitely WRONG about the Boeremag and Janusz Walus. They were for real.
Original Post Date: 2009-03-05 Time: 09:00:09 Posted By: Gairk
A fascinating Gallup poll has been circulating recently that demonstrates the power of language in times of crisis.
In one formulation, pollsters posed the following question:
Do you favor or oppose the federal government temporarily taking over major U.S. banks in danger of failing in an attempt to stabilize them?
Of those who responded, 54% were in favor, while 44% were opposed. During the same period in late February, the same question was posed to a separate group, with the term “nationalizing” swapped in for “taking over.” Those favoring such a solution dropped to 37%, while opposition shot up to 57%.
The word “nationalization” clearly carries a lot of baggage. However, there is a consensus forming across a fairly broad political spectrum — from Paul Krugman to James Baker and Alan Greenspan — that temporary nationalization of problem banks like Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) and Citigroup (NYSE: C) is a necessity. Our own Chuck Saletta thinks that’s a horrendous idea, and prefers the bankruptcy process, but I believe these approaches more or less amount to the same thing: Shareholders get wiped out, and senior creditors become the new shareholders of stronger, private-sector institutions with improved capital structures and new management and boards of directors.
That, or they get carved up and tucked into money-center banks like JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) and asset managers like Bank of New York Mellon (NYSE: BK). With JPMorgan having taken on WaMu (and Bear Stearns) and Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) having swallowed Wachovia, however, I’m not sure how much more engorging our sound, albeit stressed, institutions can take.
I think everyone agrees that the government needs to get in and out as quickly as possible. There can be no Glorious People’s Bank of Apple Pie or anything like that. If done right, I agree with economist Greg Mankiw that nationalization is the wrong word for this process.
So, to the folks in Washington: Let’s avoid “nationalization,” because it’s just as misleading as the term “bankruptcy” in describing the sort of recapitalization these problem banks require. Call it restructuring, pre-privatization, dezombification — I don’t care. Just get on with it.
By: Toby Shute
March 4, 2009