04/06/2010

12 Painful Lessons Learned From Bubbles of the Past

Classical economists have long described human beings as “rational actors.” By this, economists mean that most people try to achieve their best interest by intelligently weighing the pros and cons of their choices, seeking evidence, and behaving in a collected manner. No greater evidence exists to the contrary, however, than market bubbles. While humans are certainly more rational than lower species, the history books are filled (indeed, still being filled) with soaring market activity caused by little more than hype and speculative mania. What makes these bubbles consequential, of course, is that they eventually burst – often with painful consequences. Furthermore, these consequences affect even those who played no role whatsoever in the buildup of the bubble. That makes bubbles a subject worthy of study by us all. Today, Billshrink dissects 12 painful lessons learned from bubbles of the past, including the early to mid 2000’s housing boom.

via www.billshrink.com

This is a MUST READ!

Apr 6, 2010 11:27:57 AM

The comments to this entry are closed.

NEXT POST
GovCorp at it again with #HCR The new health care reform bill has barely been signed into law and already insurance companies are finding ways to avoid providing one of its centerpiece benefits touted by President Obama: coverage for children with pre-existing conditions. Congress meant to stop insurance companies from discriminating against children with chronic diseases like asthma, diabetes, birth defects and cystic fibrosis, and the law does say that if a company sells a health insurance policy, it has to cover these kinds of pre-existing conditions for children. But now companies are arguing that they don't have to sell the policies in the first place -- at least not until 2014 -- and if they do, they can hike the premiums to whatever amount they need to cover the additional costs. John D. Rockefeller IV (D-West Virginia) said, "The ink has not yet dried on the health care reform bill, and already some deplorable health insurance companies are trying to duck away from covering children with pre-existing conditions. This is outrageous.” via warlords2010.blogspot.com This is a MUST READ! Click the link above to see the video discussing how Ethically Challenged Senator Chris Dodd wrote the TARP provisions regarding bonusues
PREVIOUS POST
The Beholden State by Steven Malanga, City Journal Spring 2010 The camera focuses on an official of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), California’s largest public-employee union, sitting in a legislative chamber and speaking into a microphone. “We helped to get you into office, and we got a good memory,” she says matter-of-factly to the elected officials outside the shot. “Come November, if you don’t back our program, we’ll get you out of office The video has become a sensation among California taxpayer groups for its vivid depiction of the audacious power that public-sector unions wield in their state. The unions’ political triumphs have molded a California in which government workers thrive at the expense of a struggling private sector. The state’s public school teachers are the highest-paid in the nation. Its prison guards can easily earn six-figure salaries. State workers routinely retire at 55 with pensions higher than their base pay for most of their working life. Meanwhile, what was once the most prosperous state now suffers from an unemployment rate far steeper than the nation’s and a flood of firms and jobs escaping high taxes and stifling regulations. This toxic combination—high public-sector employee costs and sagging economic fortunes—has produced recurring budget crises in Sacramento and in virtually every municipality in the state. How public employees became members of the elite class in a declining California offers a cautionary tale to the rest of the country, where the same process is happening in slower motion. The story starts half a century ago, when California public workers won bargaining rights and quickly learned how to elect their own bosses—that is, sympathetic politicians who would grant them outsize pay and benefits in exchange for their support. Over time, the unions have turned the state’s politics completely in their favor. The result: unaffordable benefits for...

Cowgirl_from_Hell

CO2HOG
Anameri Canfamily
Dancingczars.wordpress.com
Houston Keys
Jeca85
Jane (sea of shoes)
Lydia
Ali Edwards
Natasha Newton
Seraid
Loudtalking.blogspot.com
The Typepad Team

Search

My Other Accounts

Recent Comments