Re: Economic meltdowns in SF

On Mar 18, 12:42=A0pm, John Schilling <schil...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
> On Mon, 17 Mar 2008 11:19:22 -0700 (PDT), Mark_Reich...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> >I know I should be avoiding reality here, but given the implications
> >of Bear Stearns if the other investment banks are just as ridiculously
> >leveraged, I was wondering what SF stories have which SF stories have
> >had economic bad times as background and which have actually dealt
> >with the economics as subject material.
>
> First, a nit: banks are *supposed* to be "ridiculously leveraged". =A0
> Their job isn't to be Custodians of Giant Money Bins, but middlemen
> between people who at the moment have more money than they need and
> those who right now need more money than they have. =A0

Do you and Jasper Janssen think I'm an idiot?  I've known banks aren't
money bins (as opposed to Uncle Scrooge's vault<g>) since I was a wee
boy and first saw It's a Wonderful Life where George explains that
before using his own money to prevent a run on the savings and loan.

> They are also supposed to be exceedingly conservative in this role,
> on account of being responsible for other people's money, and it is
> there rather than the degree of leveraging that B-S went wrong.

Oh, and why should we have trusted in the inherant honesty and
transparancy of those in charge of investment banks when we aren't
supposed to anywhere else?  Isn't it supposed to be part of the
conservative creed that one should assume somebody is lazy, ****ftless
and dishonest until he or she proves otherwise?

See Steven L's response to Jasper for regulatory changes that helped
lead to this debacle.  Also there's the fact that the United States is
essentially protecting an investment brokerage when it never has
before.  I've read that it is because they don't want the assets
priced in the open market as part of the bankruptcy since that would
cause the assets of all the other investment banks to sink and bring
down the whole house of cards.

As for the basic unsoundness of the Greatest Borrower nation which has
also never adequately addressed its addiction to oil, you'll have to
research elsewhere.  This always happens when true fiscal conservatism
is ditched in favor of doing whatever the richest and greediest want.
Ideology and belief is no replacement for hard won lessons.  As I
said, the events in Price of Loyalty should have been instructive.

> For a quasi-SFnal example of banking done *right*, and why it really
> is massively superior to the old ways, try Neal Stephenson's "Baroque
> Cycle".

I'll look into it.