Some are discussing the similarities between the October 1929 Wall Street crash and our current economic climate with unregulated hedge funds, sub prime loan failure, and Billion dollar profits. Its clear some are becoming much more wealthy while others barely get by. Stan has wisely brought up the importance of people on the political left educating themselves about money. Not so we can manipulate people and markets but to survive the future. A form of competitive market research if you will.

In testimony before the House Committee on Financial Services last week, veteran economic journalist Robert Kuttner talked about these parallels:

“Your predecessors, over at the Senate Banking Committee, in the celebrated Pecora Hearings of 1933 and 1934, laid the groundwork for the modern edifice of financial regulation. I suspect that they would be appalled at the parallels between the systemic risks of the 1920s and many of the modern practices that have been permitted to seep back in to our financial markets.”

Check out this segment of the Bill Moyes Journal called Heading for 1929?. [Transcript] I learned a lot watching this. Fascinating discussions with Robert Kuttner editor-in-chief of The American Prospect and former SEC chairman William H. Donaldson. I am personally shocked at how opaque markets are and how little I know about their operations. Sadly its not just me who is in the dark about these dirty dealings.

Posted by BrianR in Analysis