Barry Eichengren links the current financial crisis to the repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act which separated commercial from investment banking. But as Alex Tabarrok shows the history of Glass-Steagall goes beyond economics and was the product of a titanic struggle between the Rockefellers and the House of Morgan.
Underneath the current crisis and response are similar struggles among real interests - banks, investment companies, the tech sector, oil and natural resources - but I can’t find anyone, anywhere providing commentary into these real interests. There is nothing even remotely similar to the hearings, reports, and exposes Tabarrock identifies during the 1930s to what is (or is not happening) today.
September 23rd, 2008 at 8:21 am
Hi Richard,
That sounds pretty much like a systemic problem issue, where the assumptions and mental models of keyplayers are not known to the public.
Only the events show up -and these sometimes as now quite destructive- and people and governments react instantaneous (the Bush Administration talking about a 700 Billion help fonds).
Where are the people who are willing to do some action research on that and similar cases to lower their impacts on economies (local and global ones) in the future and provide a foundation for sustainably growth of nations?
Looking forward to hearing more about it.
Cheers,
Ralf