At a recent community forum on the economy, Professor Joseph Stiglitz argued in favor of temporary bank nationalization, calling it "not that big of a deal" and essential to changing incentive structures.
"When the economy recovers, you privatize again," he said.
Bio
Joseph E. Stiglitz
Joseph E. Stiglitz is a professor at Columbia University and the chair of the university's Committee on Global Thought. In 2001, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics for his analyses of markets with asymmetric information. He was a member of the Council of Economic Advisers under Clinton and later the chief economist for the World Bank. His latest book is Freefall: America, Free Markets, and the Sinking of the World Economy.
(born Feb. 9, 1943, Gary, Ind., U.S.) U.S. economist. He received a Ph.D. (1967) from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and taught at several universities, including Yale, Harvard, Stanford, and Columbia. From 1997 to 2000 he was the World Bank's chief economist but often disagreed with the organization's policies. Stiglitz helped found modern development economics, and he changed how economists think about the way markets work. His studies on asymmetric information in the marketplace showed that the poorly informed can obtain information from the better informed through a screening process, for example, when insurance companies determine the risk factors of their clients. He shared the 2001 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences with George A. Akerlof and A. Michael Spence.
Professor Stiglitz makes an interesting point on the interdependence of the global economy. How fair is it for the US to be responsible for keeping the global economy from sinking by spending beyond its means, but more importantly, how fair is for the rest of the world to suffer from the economic recession when US is unable to spend enough? The only way to break free from this vicious cycle is to reform global financial institutions such as WTO, IMF and World Bank to allow greater representation and participation from the rest of the world. Joseph Stiglitz has a great book on this issue:”Globalization and Its Discontents”
Don't think the fact that it's not working lead you to believe they will rethink their plans. The addict binges and needs more but the drug he is taking is hurting him. But they will hit the crack pipe of cash. And they will chase the dragons tail.