Thursday, April 03, 2008

Could an economic lesson from Sweden work in the U.S.? - USATODAY.com

Want something to worry about? try this one on for size:

Could an economic lesson from Sweden work in the U.S.? - USATODAY.com:

"The Swedish and American crises share many traits....Happily, despite economic conditions that were far worse than in the USA today — and unlike a similar episode in Japan — Sweden quickly recovered.

Yet, it did so in a manner that would be highly controversial in the United States. Sweden used taxpayer money — and lots of it — to rebuild its wounded banks.....Sweden's successful crisis management may offer a road map for U.S. officials. But the Swedish cleanup wasn't cheap. It cost the public an estimated 6% of annual economic output; an equivalent bill for the U.S. today would be nearly $850 billion."

Later in the same article, regular contributor Edward Kane gets in the act:
"Edward Kane, a Boston College finance professor, says the Fed's decision to facilitate the sale by backing $29 billion worth of Bear Stearns' assets is the first sign of what amounts to a government takeover of the financial system. 'They've implicitly provided guarantees to any number of these firms. There is a nationalization (occurring). It is implicit and unacknowledged,' says Kane"
Ok, Yoga breath.

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