Schwarzman’s “Nazi’s” Comparison We have met the enemy, and he is . . . us. –Pogo Stephen Schwarzman, a Wall Street honcho, made headlines last month for comparing President Obama’s proposal to raise (the absurdly low) tax rates on hedge fund compensation — called “carried interest” — to Hitler’s invasion of Poland. Funny, I had...Read More
“We ALL Caused This Mess??” Hardly. Put me in the camp that says, without an accurate diagnosis, it’s not possible to cure our current economic mess. So, here are two competing narratives explaining how we got to this juncture, both courtesy of Les Leopold (thanks to Ned Krahl for forwarding the Leopold piece): Narrative #1:...Read More
Recipe for Recovery. Not.If you’ve been on a desert island the last three years or so, here’s a quick synopsis of the financial crisis so far: When the proverbial sh*t hits the fan, as it did beginning in early 2008, you: 1. Reward society’s greediest and most reckless — that would be Wall Street —...Read More
Earthquake on Wall Street You break it, you own it. –Thomas L. Friedman, “The Pottery Barn Rule” Supposedly coined by Friedman in a 2003 Op-Ed piece, the “it” he was referring to at the time was Iraq. His warning: if the U.S. goes into Iraq and bungles it — it will bear responsibility for the...Read More
Iceland’s Last Wishes For connoisseurs of dark humor, there’s a beauty on Twitter that apparently has gone “viral”: Iceland’s last wish: to have its ashes scattered all over Europe” — market analyst For those who don’t recall, Iceland’s (ongoing) banking crisis makes the one in the U.S. look like a summer squall.Read More
The Quick & Simple Way to Fix Wall Street[Editor’s Note: in a post last week, “Financier, Heal Thyself? Don’t Count On It,” I promised a part 2. This is it. Heads up: if you read this blog purely for real estate content, or want a post with a little levity — skip this one.] Want...Read More
