Thomas Friedman discovers the economic crisis

[Robbien]

This may be mean spirited, but what planet has Thomas Friedman been visiting?

In his New York Times column Wednesday, he seems to realize there's a financial crisis out there and guess what: He's worried. Yes, Thomas Friedman is worried. This would normally cause us agita if we hadn't been waking up and screaming in the middle of the night since, well, last March when Bear Stearns Cos. went down, and certainly since September when Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and American International Group Inc. (NYSE:AIG) imploded. And now Friedman is concerned that President Obama -- "a talented young president with many good instincts," thank you very much -- may have to spend a big chunk of his first term dealing with the financial disaster instead of issues Friedman thinks will "propel us forward," like healthcare, tax code rationalization and a "green industrial revolution.

Ah, I get it. This financial black hole is a problem because it distracts from issues Friedman likes to write about. Based on the rest of his column, his mastery of finance appears a little thin, though that doesn't stop him from explaining in child-like terms what's been happening to us for well over a year now. Friedman plaintively wonders: "Why couldn't former Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson solve this problem?" And why can't Tim Geithner "look us in the eye and spell out his strategy?" Well, it can't be because they don't have a clue; after all, like Friedman himself, they are smart, top-of-the-heap guys. No, it's because they are afraid to tell us how big it is. It's the children thing again. And then Friedman commits a truly unpardonable sin: He rolls out that moldy old chestnut from "Jaws" about needing a bigger boat.

And there's more. "The problem is more complicated than anything you can imagine," he writes, as if we hadn't been frantically paging through Keynes, Galbraith and Nostradamus for weeks. He then offers up more Weekly Reader explanations. We go from silver bullets to bubbles to banks to the difficulties of climbing out of big craters. Friedman, alone in this universe, seems to know that subprime mortgages are worth 20 cents on the dollar. Cancel the stress tests, Tim. Mark to Friedman. He also seems to believe that the problem with Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) is its derivative contracts, which would cause havoc if the government put it into receivership. Systemic havoc: true. But it feels like Friedman's really talking about AIG and its credit default swaps. Details schmetails.

Mean-spirited perhaps. But these days who has the patience to be lectured to by someone who clearly hasn't spent a minute contemplating unemployment or the intricacies of nationalization. And he's worried! By the way, Tom, this isn't just a banking crisis any more. We need a goddamned yacht. - Robert Teitelman

http://www.thedeal.com/dealscape/2009/03/thomas_friedman_discovers_the.php


Ha! Forget Mark to Market. Mark to Friedman :rofl:

[On the Road]

1. After Reading the Original Column,

I can't really see what's wrong with it. Articles recapitulating the history of the financial crisis like this all the time. It's not like Friedman just discovered the issue yesterday.

As far as this comment goes: This financial black hole is a problem because it distracts from issues Friedman likes to write about.

The financial black hole distracts from anything anyone other than bond analysts consider important. It is a "distraction" to anyone who deals with any other national issue.

The thrust of the article, and the reason it was written, is out of concern that all the positive things Obama could do are in danger of being shelved by the magnitude of the financial crisis. That is a worthwhile point.

I'm frankly pleased Friedman is on board with issues like health care and alternative energy and has good things to say about Obama. He is influential in emerging industries and the part of the business community that is more sympathetic to the Democratic agenda.

[tom_paine]

2. Tom must have had an epiphany over lunch of lobster thermidor and Dom perignon.

Seriously, that's how a lot of things Tom writes gets started. He's at lunch with some Aristocrat, and he sees a regular person out the window, fiddling with his tie.

BANG! There's two chapters in his new book!

[bemildred]

3. Just one more Friedman Unit.

One reason Tom might be worried about the economy:

http://harpers.org/index/?q=friedman

[DemReadingDU]

4. Tom Friedman's wife's family had the GGP empire

11/16/08
Friedman's wife, Ann, is a graduate of Stanford University and the London School of Economics. Her father, Matthew Bucksbaum, is the chairman of the board of General Growth Properties, the real estate development group that he co-founded with his brother in 1954. The Bucksbaums helped pioneer the development of shopping centers in the United States. As of 2007, Forbes estimated the Bucksbaum family's assets at $4.1 billion, including about 18.6 million square meters of mall space.

http://www.moonofalabama.org/2008/11/friedman-talks.html

[sasquatch]

5. Tom is the ultimate Villager