Latest Government Move Not a Panacea

Yesterday, we saw international central banks dump over 100 billion into the system, & we've seen that recently as well. Does it really make a difference. I think not, I believe it is like putting a band-aid on a bullet hole.

This morning, we are hearing of a government plan to create an agency to purchase Mortgage Backed Securities (MBS) to stem the credit crisis. Very similar to the RTC, this agency will have the ability to "assist" ailing banks to offload bad debt. The benefit appears to be stabilizing the market.

In addition, the SEC is banning short sales for wall street brokerage houses. The fed will also insure certain money market accounts as well.

I have always respected Paulson, ex leader of Goldman Sachs, yet I have grave doubts over the latest actions and proposed ones. First, bailing out Bear Stearns set a massively horrible precedent. It assumes that if you are large you are too big to fail. Following that the government essentially nationalized Fannie and Freddie (of course they were federally chartered and regulated to begin with) sending sentiment into a tailspin. Then, they began working with Lehman and Merrill. Not bailing them out but seemingly brokering transactions. Second, they took a 79% share in AIG (the nations largest insurer) virtually wiping out the stockholders for the price tag of 85 billion. All to "stabilize the credit markets". Third, they did most of this without asking anyone, which means they have a lot of control, power, market capital, money printing ability, and a political agenda.

The assumption is that this is short term and can be manipulated and controlled. I agree that it can be controlled, but not without a cost. The cost is to the American tax payer. We have a budget deficit, trade deficit, mounting concerns over the stability of social security, we have cut veterans benefits all while fighting a 10 billion dollar per month war. However, the people have congress to deal with those issues. The fed will basically spend billions unilaterally, at the executive level, with no clear benefit to the public, yet burdening them with the debt.

Finally, where does it go from here, what guarantee is there that this will solve the issues. The majority of the real estate crunch and debt issues are media related, public perception is driving this problem as much as the rising costs of gas and the middle class feeling an economic pinch. Merrill is a perfect example of this, they are banning short selling to protect Merrill from opinion, not real concerns over its stability. Markets ultimately take care of themselves, people lose money and companies belly up. It is the market, and you can't stop reality.

And who is next, Autos, Airlines, Agriculture, .....