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Daily Archives: November 26, 2009

Brookings – Telling the Narrative of the Financial Crisis: Not Just a Housing Bubble

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Telling the Narrative of the Financial Crisis: Not Just a Housing Bubble – Douglas J. Elliott, Fellow, Economic Studies, Initiative on Business and Public Policy, Martin Neil Baily, Senior Fellow, Economic Studies – The Brookings Institution, November 23, 2009.

  • “Major crises, such as the recent financial crisis, usually end up being understood by the public in terms of some simple narrative, which then heavily influences the choices politicians make. We believe there are three major story lines still vying for acceptance by the public and that whichever one comes to dominate could strongly affect public policy.
    • Narrative 1: It was the fault of the government, which encouraged a massive housing bubble and mishandled the ensuing crisis.
    • Narrative 2: It was Wall Street’s fault, stemming from greed, arrogance, stupidity, and misaligned incentives, especially in compensation structures.
    • Narrative 3: “Everyone” was at fault: Wall Street, the government, and our wider society. People in all types of institutions and as individuals became blasé about risk-taking and leverage, creating a bubble across a wide range of investments and countries.”
    • Related postings on financial system

    • November Release of White House Visitor Records

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    News release: “Building upon last month’s historic release of nearly 500 White House visitor records, today the White House releases more than 1,600 records of visits to the White House in response to another month’s worth of requests. You can view all the records in a searchable database in our Disclosures section. We announced earlier… Continue Reading

    Federal Reserve to run public service announcement with credit card tips for holiday shoppers

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    “The Federal Reserve wants consumers to use their credit cards wisely as they shop for the holidays, and is sponsoring 45-second advertisements in movie theaters with tips to help shoppers avoid unnecessary charges and fees. The advertisements will appear before movie previews at 12 highly attended theaters in major metropolitan areas from November 27 through… Continue Reading