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Plunder and Blunder: The Rise and Fall of the Bubble Economy. Dean Baker will be here to discuss his book, Plunder and Blunder. Hosted by Bruce Bartlett.
In his new book, Plunder and Blunder: The Rise and Fall of the Bubble Economy (PoliPointPress, January 2009), Dean Baker chronicles the growth and collapse of the stock and housing bubbles and explains how policy changes since 1980 laid the groundwork for catastrophic-but completely predictable-market meltdowns. Baker argues not only that competent economists should have recognized the developing housing bubble, but also that policymakers and the media cheerfully neglected those economists who did predict danger.
Baker isn’t just a Monday-morning quarterback; he was one of the few economists to predict the housing crash. In his book, Baker documents the early warning signs of the current crises and offers concrete policy suggestions for avoiding similar crises.
Dean Baker is co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington DC. He is a frequent guest on National Public Radio, CNN, CNBC, and other news programs. His articles have appeared in the Washington Post, the Atlantic Monthly, the Financial Times, and the Guardian. He writes a column for the Guardian, the American Prospect, and Truthout.org. He is the author of several books, including The Conservative Nanny State: How the Wealthy Use the Government to Stay Rich and Get Richer and The United States since 1980. He received his PhD in economics from the University of Michigan. — from Bev’s listing
It will be a great discussion, be there! 5 pm ET.
11 Comments
Ben Stein is he competent? I wonder why the Media has not asked Ben if he took his own advice and bought financial companies because they were so cheap.
A year ago before the bank bailout. Does Ben Stein have any money
? Only if he is a fraud who didn’t take his oen advice.
http://www.americablog.com/200…..qus_thread
Phil Gramm might not be competent but he is responsible for the Bush Bubbles.
http://www.time.com/time/busin…..html?imw=Y
The
IvoryDark Towerof Doomthe Chicago School of Economics needs to be taken down!We need some Hobbits with the Ring of Power.
The bubble economy is a bi-partisan creation. It started in the Clinton years with the stock bubble. The top economic officials in the Clinton administration, including people like Larry Summers, Robert Rubin, and Tim Geithner, share the blame.
This does not in any way exonerate the Bush team, but we should be clear that the problem is much deeper. Most of the economics profession, not just the Chicago crew, is implictd in this mess.
Ben Stein? I always remember Ben Stein as the person who condescendingly told readers that the subprime crisis was not any big deal last spring. Fortunately for Mr. Stein he is in a job where he is not in any way held accountable for the quality of his work.
Thanks for the Answers Dean! I’m bookmarking this.
What do you think of the Obama stimulus plan what do you think will work and won’t work?
The Obama stimulus plan is very good start. However, we will need considerably more spending to offset the downturn. By their own calculation, the plan will get us only about one-third of the way back toward full employment by the end of 2010. If we spent $600 billion a year, and dumped most of these tax cuts, the package would be more in the ballpark.
Nonetheless, I very much hope that Congress approves it quickly. We can always add to the stimulus later.
Assuming Obama gets what he wants how long will our current troubles last?
What if anything is a good place to put your money? I got some solar and wind stocks will Obama’s green Power plan help them if so how much ball park estimate?
I think Green power because the fuel is free and there is no pollution a cost the GOP never factors in can keep growing until it replaces everything else, Coal, Natural Gas, Oil, Nuclear.
Oh can the Nuclear Power industry make it without government help?
Can the Nuclear power industry insure themselves without government help from the real danger of another Chernobyl?
If regulators / examiners / other investigators find that there have been irregularities with respect to the disbursal of TARP funds (as I believe there will be), is it feasible to prosecute? Felonies are felonies.
If the Obama administration was committed to prosecuting abuses, my guess is that they probably could. The Bush administration was pretty good about going after people about some pretty crazy terrorism charges. If the Obama pursued TARP abuses with equal zeal (and more integrity) I’m sure that many folks could be thrown in jail. However, I doubt that they will be motivated to do so.
Book Salon up at the mothership