Posted is a hilarious video of John Stewart talking about former CEO of Goldman Sachs, Jon Corzine. Stewart pokes fun at Corzine's political and financial career, labeling him as the "Walking Debt." From this, he makes reference to the former CEO's numerous failures, such as his decision to invest 6.3 billion dollars in European debt. Corzine's hypocrisy is also highlighted when he talks about how there should have been tighter regulation to avoid debt increase for business firms, as he actually goes to avoid this same regulation when he is faced with "over-leveraged" debt. Stewart's lambasting of Corzine highlights the mistake of investing heavily in the private sector, which is why I feel that this video ties in exceptionally well with what we've been covering in class, especially since we've watched and learned about the 2008 economic crisis.
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The political quote I analyzed yesterday compared America to a bar-room drunk, who goes around boasting of his "money and muscle" only to end up miserably bleating in his drunkenness. I think this applies quite accurately to Jon Corzine, who had both the "money" (his wealth and professional position) and the "muscle" (political power). But, as evidenced by his incredibly risky $6.3 billion investment in European debt, he got way too confident in his abilities, which led him to "drunkenly" attempt to circumvent the regulations he had hypocritically and previously supported. I hope Corzine's demise will teach a powerful lesson to the rest of those Wall Street leaders to be more responsible so as not to create systemic risk. Sadly though, not all of us can bleat in a "bus-jet".
Interestingly enough, I was reading the SF Chronicle at breakfast and found two articles about major events in Italy and Greece related to the European debt crises. Both countries are replacing their prime ministers with renowned economists in order to stabilize their respective economies. In Italy, the government will transform into a cabinet of "technocrats, most likely led by a former European commissioner, Mario Monti". One wrinkle that had delayed this transition, however, was the political class clinging to their power and political bases, which reminded me somewhat of our own nation's elite. Eastward in Greece, the former VP of the European Central Bank and former governor of the Bank of Greece, Lucas Papademos, will succeed George Papandreou as prime minister.
Relating this to our country, do you think we ought to elect a candidate in 2012 with the strongest economic background? In the current US economy, how important do you think their other skills and specialties are, compared to their economic background?
Mitt Romney? Mm, maybe. Herman Cain? Sure seems to know what he's talking about...
I feel like using economic background as the main criterion for choosing an executive power is not the best idea. While it is important for the president to maintain policies which are conducive to a growing economy, those are not his only responsibilities.
I for one am appalled by this video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmkvtfEEFT0) of Herman Cain literally saying he doesn't care about foreign policy.
While I do recognize that the people want to solve the financial crisis in the U.S., the executive is responsible for much much more than just the financial situation at home.
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