The Economic Equivalent Of War [Hank Paulson has a book out]

Forbes ^ | 02.16.10, 05:55 PM EST | Robert Lenzner

[1rudeboy]

Hank Paulson tells how he brought us back from the brink of financial collapse by bending the rules of the free market.

Stop sniping at Hank Paulson. The former Treasury Secretary saved the day by overcoming his predilection for free market capitalism and he didn't do it to save Goldman Sachs, his and my alma mater. His pragmatic boldness helped save the capitalist system from a possible total collapse.

Read On The Brink, Inside the Race to Stop the Collapse of the Global Financial System (Business Plus, $28.99) and get Paulson's take on the whole affair. The facts are these: In the six months between March and September of 2008, eight major financial institutions--Bear Stearns, IndyMac, Fannie Mae ( FNM - news - people ), Freddie Mac ( FRE - news - people ), Lehman Brothers ( LEHMQ - news - people ), AIG ( AIG - news - people ), Wash Mutual and Wachovia--went under or had to be rescued in costly fashion. Citigroup ( C - news - people ) was insolvent; Bank of America ( BAC - news - people ), Goldman Sachs ( GS - news - people ), and Morgan Stanley ( MS - news - people ) were on the edge for a while.

I was mentally exhausted trying to keep straight these cumulative crises all these many months later. There was no time to catch a breath.

[1rudeboy]

I’m not missing any point. Nothing’s wrong with being prejudiced, but you should be honest and admit it . . . .

[M Kehoe]

I haven’t heard of that . . . if anything, I thought that the Fed flooded the system with dollars . . . .

Yes, the Fed intervened. They had to, otherwise Paulson's title to his book would be, "How the Collapse of the Global Financial System Happened."

5.56mm

[mac_truck]

Another book to add to the reading pile.

Woodpile is more like it, unless you like tall stories.

[tickedoffnow]

“Another book to add to the reading pile.”

No, another book to add to the burning pile. Paulson, along with Sheila Bair did massive damage to our economy by stealing Washington Mutual to prop up JPM. To hell with both of them.

[1rudeboy]

Actually, I like fiction also. But you have to read it first, right? Before you develop an opinion of it?

[1rudeboy]

For later:

EXCERPT: Henry M. Paulson Jr.'s: 'On the Brink'.

[kcvl]

Prior to joining Forbes, Mr. Lenzner was a Columnist for the Boston Globe and the Dallas Morning News from 1990 to 1992. He was New York Correspondent for the Boston Globe from 1971 to 1982 and their New York Bureau Chief from 1983 to 1990.

From 1969 to 1970 Mr. Lenzner was Manager of the Arbitrage Department at Oppenheimer & Co., and he was assistant to the partner in charge of trading and arbitrage at Goldman Sachs & Co. from 1962 to 1968.

******

Monday, September 7, 2009
Robert Lenzner and Judge Richard Posner Argue for International Socialism

Press Here

[1rudeboy]

Mitchell Langbert has researched and written about employee benefit issues and was a corporate benefits administrator. He is currently associate professor of business at Brooklyn College. I hold a Ph.D. from the Columbia University Graduate School of Business, an MBA from UCLA and an AB from Sarah Lawrence College.

[mac_truck]

Pauson’s been making the rounds on tv. You don’t need to read his book to reject his premise on the financial crisis and the web of lies that flow from it.

[1rudeboy]

What is Paulson's premise? What web of lies flowed from it? Sorry if I'm being a stick-in-the-mud, but I'd like to see opinions that are supported.

So far, all I've seen is:

"it is because I say so,"
"I don't need to learn otherwise,"
"he worked for Goldman,"
"he went to Columbia,"
"I found a blog doing a Google search on 'Lenzner,'" and
etc.

That's some pretty thin gruel.