Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Cause and Effect

When Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd went on Bloomberg TV Friday and mused about the possibility of bank nationalization, panicked investors sent the Dow plummeting a hundred points in the next hour.



Whoops.




Dodd’s casual remark and the not-so-casual consequences it caused were among the most vivid examples of a new Washington phenomenon. The city’s sudden status as the de facto world financial capital means that briefings and interviews that once would have passed with a yawn can create instant terror on Wall Street and Main Street alike.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner laid an egg earlier this month when his public rollout of a bank-rescue plan was deemed too vague by the markets, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average slid a harrowing 382 points.



Last summer, Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) faced criticism that his high-profile criticism of IndyMac’s precarious financial condition caused a run on that bank, which failed days later.



Another garrulous politician, Vice President Joe Biden, did not help the cause of consumer confidence when he told lawmakers, in a remark that got out, that there was probably a 30 percent chance the Obama administration would fail.



These are all signs of one thing .... Washington has too much power.

1 comments:

Anonymous,  February 26, 2009 at 11:46 AM  

Way too much power in Washington.

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This blog is about my opinions and world view.  I am a conservative, evangelical Christian.  Generally speaking, if you post a comment, I'll allow you to express your view.  However, if you say something hateful, untruthful, or just generally something I don't like, I may remove it.

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