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Don't Listen to Krugman— This Plan Might Work

Pearlstein lays into fellow columnist

By Jason Farago,  Newser Staff

Posted Mar 24, 2009 7:51 AM CDT

(Newser) – Even before the full details were released, critics were bashing the Treasury's public-private asset purchase plan; Paul Krugman predicted it would fail and lead the country into depression (not to speak of the writer into despair). Steven Pearlstein begs to differ, and the markets seem to agree. For the Washington Post columnist, the Geithner plan is better than nationalization: There's now "a good chance of bringing significant amounts of private capital back into the financial system."

It's fair to say that the government is shouldering most of the downside risk—but Washington had to in order to lure spooked investors at all. With added liquidity we should see that asset-backed securities aren't worthless, and even for those that are, "nationalization doesn't make the bad loans go away." And if nothing else, at least "the conversation has turned from AIG bonuses to the question of how to revive the global financial system."

Paul Krugman, Princeton University professor of economics and international affairs, after he was announced the winner of the 2008 Nobel Prize in economics Monday, Oct. 13, 2008.
Paul Krugman, Princeton University professor of economics and international affairs, after he was announced the winner of the 2008 Nobel Prize in economics Monday, Oct. 13, 2008.   (AP Photo/Mel Evans)
Tim Geithner, Barack Obama, Ben Bernanke and Sheila Bair at the White House yesterday, after Geithner announced the Treasury's public-private asset purchase plan.
Tim Geithner, Barack Obama, Ben Bernanke and Sheila Bair at the White House yesterday, after Geithner announced the Treasury's public-private asset purchase plan.   (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
A trader works in the S&P 500 futures pit at the CME Group Tuesday, March 10, 2009, in Chicago.
A trader works in the S&P 500 futures pit at the CME Group Tuesday, March 10, 2009, in Chicago.   (AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato)
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One can quibble that the proposed deals are too sweet or not sweet enough, but I can assure you that the folks at Treasury, having consulted widely with investors, have a better feel for those details than even the most sagacious newspaper columnists. -

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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 11 comments
woodyTX
Mar 25, 2009 2:10 AM CDT
You make a good point SL. The Treasury program is indeed a form of subsidized auction to induce bidders to the table. With AIG though the additional problem is that a large portion of the "assets" are just money owed against credit default swaps that were called in by counterparties. Essentially "insurance policies" where the beneficiary died and his wife (Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan etc) is now collecting. These to my knowledge are payment obligations with no upside that no one will want to purchase.
Snowleopard
Mar 24, 2009 8:10 AM CDT
private investors only have to pay half of the first 15%. That's only a 7% downside. What a gift.
Snowleopard
Mar 24, 2009 6:41 AM CDT
"It's fair to say that the government is shouldering most of the downside risk" ....article correction: That should read "It's fair to say that TAXPAYERS are shouldering most of the downside risk"

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