“We simply – we simply need them.” Christina Romer, an economic adviser for Obama, chatted with “Fox News Sunday” about the nature of “toxic,” i.e. uncertain, assets. Private investors are doing the administration a favor, she says, by not forcing the government to carry all of the weight of the toxic assets. Good for them. We’ll buy those investors a beer (probably a PBR; times are tough) next time we see them in our local dive bar. source
If, in the last few years, we’ve seen too much greed and too little fear, too much spending and not enough saving, too much borrowing and not enough worrying, today our problem is very different. It is this transition from an excess of greed to an excess of fear that President Roosevelt had in mind.
Lawrence Summers • President Barack Obama’s top economic adviser, on the economic struggles the country is facing, harkening back to President Franklin Roosevelt’s “We have nothing to fear but fear itself” line. His words also appeared to be critical of investors whose caution is stagnating the market even as consumer spending improves. • source
