Monthly Archives: November 2009

As a last followup before vacation to the previous post. Financial Literacy Do check out John Carney’s Sorry America: You’re Probably Doomed To Financial Illiteracy. He links to an older post by Matthew Yglesias pointing out that one problem with … Continue reading →

If you are interested in killing some time on the internet today before Thanksgiving, check out this Aspen Institute event, Financial Reform for America: Strengthening Our Economy and Our Communities. It’s a moderated debate between Edward Yingling, President & CEO … Continue reading →

I wrote a quick review at The Atlantic Business of Frontline’s “The Card Game”, available for viewing online at this page. If you’ve followed the debate closely, it’s probably a narrative you’ve heard before. What surprised me is how explicit … Continue reading →

The OTC derivative market is one of the crucial points of reform. Noam Scheiber has good news, Could Wall Street Actually Lose in Congress? The proposal the Obama administration unveiled this summer would have forced banks and hedge funds to … Continue reading →

There are two articles about religion and the financialization of regular life in the latest Atlantic Monthly, and both are worth your time. The first to check out is about financial guru Dave Ramsey by Megan Mcardle: How, searching for … Continue reading →

Caught between state funding cuts and rowdy student protests, a key committee of the University of California’s Board of Regents on Wednesday reluctantly approved a two-step student fee increase that would raise undergraduate education costs more than $2,500, or 32%, … Continue reading →

I’ve been thinking a lot about what kinds of benefits we enjoy from having large banks. Economics of Contempt has a post arguing that the benefit comes from big banks being able to keep big books, and thus increase liquidity: … Continue reading →

It’s not just random Americans getting hit with gotcha fees and term changes that could use a “vanilla contract”, check out this amazing story: Goldman Sachs Group Inc. paid off at face value some junior-ranking slices of two collateralized debt … Continue reading →

I don’t read anywhere near as much history as I’d like, and I realize that when I read something that is excellent. If the topic interests you, I’d highly recommend The Crisis of Imprisonment: Protest, Politics, and the Making of … Continue reading →

I’m going to start blogging out a longer project I’m working on, one I really want your input for. One thing that I always hear from people across a wide range of the political spectrum is that we need more … Continue reading →