Unfortunately, the Mamouth-in-the-room no one is talking about is the derivative crisis. If this is not addressed - and forcefully - none of the bailouts will work.
The president must assume FDR-like powers. The first thing he should do is to declare all derivatives placed outside of legally regulated markets null and void. These "bets" - worth $180 trillion according the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency in America alone, and over half a Quadrillion dollars worldwide - could not have been made in traditionally regulated markets, because the players did not have sufficient collateral.
Because for every buyer there is a seller, the amounts lost would zero out and no one would gain an advantage. We would just get to reset the clock. This is as fair as things can be made given where we are. Right now, this enormous sum is only good for driving companies into bankruptcy and tying up the courts for years while the "winners" of these bets squabble over the crumbs of the bankrupt companies. This is already happening with the creditors suing each other for the relative crumbs left of Lehman Brothers.
If the parties object to the elimination of their derivative bets, they should be reminded of the penalty for fraud.
What's causing the panic in the markets right now is the realization that the losers have insufficient money to pay the winners. The domino effect of multiple collapses cannot be stemmed by any government, even by running the printing press overtime. The only solution is to wipe them off the books and ensure these bets are never made again by sending those who make them in the future to jail.
1
1
1
