kleptocracy

From Insurance to Kleptocracy, with Graphics

Via Instaputz, an explanation of why stealing tax dollars in order to decouple securities from the assets they are allegedly securitizing is A Really Stupid Idea, presented directly, yet also in a...

If You Think I Believe it's 1931 Again, You Should Ask the Greek Guy

Via Robert's Twitter Feed, and to avoid ranting about 401(k)s before the end of May, here's a Rant Well Worth Reading. (Warning: PG-13 or R rating; D. Aritophanes channels The Rude Pundit).Clean...

Thought-Experiment: Assets and Securities

Ken Houghtonwants to sidebar today into looking at the general application and implications of an Accounting Identity:Assets= Liabilities + Equity (A=L+E, or the ALE Rule).Let us assume that, since...

Quote of the Day on Executive Pay

Via Mark Thoma, Uwe Reinhardt* hits one out of the park on economist's research abilities:Evidently, in the mind of economists, Lone Ranger C.E.O.’s can make truly astronomical contributions to a...

The TARP-May-Produce-a-Profit Meme can now be laid to rest

Duff and Phelps, which tends to be the rating agency you go to if S&P or Moody's won't rate you highly enough, provides a convenient evaluation table (p. 22 of this report) for the marvelous...

Felix Salmon Explains It All to You

Ken HoughtonThere does indeed seem to have been a visible change in Treasury policy since the election. Until that point, it cared a little about optics. Now, it's giving monster bailouts to the...

Maybe Not This Time...

...at least not so directly:The Treasury Department has turned down a request by General Motors for up to $10 billion to help finance the automaker’s possible merger with Chrysler, according to...