9 thoughts on “Bank shot”

    1. Mr. Franks, you failed to respond to Tom Johnson’s question (in a comment here the other day):

      I’d be interested to know what Mr. Franks thinks the FDIC should have done, if not taking over the banks? Should the government have let them collapse?

      Presumably, if the government shouldn’t have stepped in, then that would be the answer, right?

      1. Simple let the market take care of itself! Had we let the banks and investment houses wither, they would have been bought up by other companies and resumed business ….. It is not the governments Job to protect us from ourselves!

  2. Mr. Franks, that may be your opinion of what governments should do, but your opinion is inconsistent with the Constitution of the United States, which states:

    We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America. [emphasis added]

    Even a cursory knowledge of large scale bank failures in our past history would demonstrate that a run on banks, which we most certainly would have had in the past two years without the FDIC, is everything but tranquil and good for the general welfare.

    1. Funny, My Opinion is completely within the guideline of the Untied States Deceleration of Independence and the Bill of Rights!

      To Promote General Welfare not to impose it.

      Which means simply, We are to fend for ourselves and the government is to help, not control us. Therefore I stand by the Constitution, it is not the Government’s Job to Take care of us, IT IS CALLED PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY!

      FYI: If you have trouble understanding the Bill of Rights or The Declaration you can read them word for word @ http://www.polticalview.blogspot.com since it seem you quoted not the Constitution but the Declaration of Independence

      1. This is the last comment from Mr. Franks that I will post. Read it and weep.

        It’s my blog. Go find some other place to express you ignorance.

        Oh, and that is the Constitution I quoted.

      2. I know we’re done with Mr Franks, but one more thing. I find it interesting that he called it the “Untied States Deceleration of Independence.”

        Maybe he’s a true Jeffersonian Anti-Federalist and a secret genius. He’s using code to tell us he wants the states to untie from each other, and have more autonomy. But…hmmm…then he would want to accelerate, not decelerate, their independence. Shoot.

        Maybe he’s just dumb and sloppy after all.

  3. On certain issues, and at certain times I find myself siding with conservative viewpoints along the conservative pillars of strong defense, pro-business/less regs/less taxes, and the importance of faith and morality. The (fourth) conservative viewpoint I will never side with is the enjoyment of being an asshole just for the sake of pissing people off. It’s a small niche, but these guys don’t really believe in anything, or know much about the issues they shout and scream about. The objective isn’t to propose solutions, or swap anecdotes about why problems are worse under one set of conditions and mitigated under another, it’s only to aggravate and belittle and cry and whine about how everyone else is part of the problem but themselves. Madness.

  4. I should add, that Mr. Franks’ assumption that failed financial assets (and companies) would be bought up by other financial companies – during a credit market collapse – is not possible. Loss of confidence in a financial institution or market, rumors of liquidity problems, runs on the bank – send values to zero. The Treasury bailout occurred a day or two before other big banks and financial institutions went b/k including Goldman and Citi. Even assuming it was possible to buy up trillions in illiquid assets with uncertain values, who would have that kind of buying power? More Lehman type episodes would just accelerate devaluations of the other Wall St firms. A collapse of Wall St. would have taken down London, Frankfurt, Hong Kong and Dubai.

    As it was, credit markets were preserved, bailout funds have been repaid. The bankers that created the mess also got to keep their jobs and their bonuses. Unfair, but not a very good argument for nuking global credit markets.

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