How’s this for a soothing comment from the Obama administration: “Capitalism will surve this crisis, in most respects.” That from former Fed Chair Paul Volcker.
Which respects won’t survive, Mr. Volcker? Early indications are that capitalism will be a shadow of its former self as the government gets involved in most aspects of the economy.
Industrial production is falling faster in most countries than in the US, he notes but the pace of the global slowdown may be even faster than the great depression. No one did anything about unsustainable global imbalances, he says.
Very sizable financial institutions will always be supported, he says, adding they should also be more closely supervised.
Pretty soon it is going to be time for Obama, Volcker, Geithner, Summers et al to begin looking forward instead of backwards, placing blame. They come up with no blazing solutions to vexing problems even though they were elected nearly 4 months ago.
