Arsenal's Cesc Fabregas, at center, looks on as Hull City's Paul McShane, second from left, scores an own goal during their English Premier League soccer match at Arsenal's Emirates stadium in London, Saturday, Sept. 27, 2008. Hull City won the match 2-1. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
by Frank James
William Black, associate professor of economics and law at the University of Missouri, was testifying yesterday before the Senate Agricultural Committee (it has oversight of commodities trading) about the role financial derivatives played in the present Wall Street meltdown and offered an apt soccer metaphor which, at first, went over the head, so to speak, of the panel's chairman, Sen. Tom Harkin, an Iowa Democrat.
BLACK: ... In soccer, we would call this the greatest own goal in the history of the world, right, in terms of the deregulation, the desupervision
SEN. TOM HARKIN: What?
BLACK: -- own goals, it's a term when you score against yourself. You kick it in your own goal instead of the other team's goal. It's -- soccer is our family passion, sorry.
Own goal. Another way of saying you shot yourself in the foot. That sounds about right.
Comments
Anytime I read the words DEREGULATION , I can usually be assured the article is going to be INACCURATE>
Banks were FORCED (regulated) into giving risky loans....in support of ACORN'S wishes.
FANNIE was REGULATED INTO having bad loans reflect FIFTY PERCENT OF THEIR PORTFOLIO'S in support of further expanding ACORN'S wishes.
REGULATIONS WERE MADE TO FORCE THE SUBPRIME LOANS INSIDE OF SECURITIES to support ACORN'S wishes of spreading the love globally.
THANK CLINTON for OPENING UP THE INNER WORKINGS OF OUR BANKS to a GROUP ACORN and other RADICAL groups like it, and for all the wonderful REGULATIONS THAT CAME ABOUT THAT ENABLED ACORN'S DREAM OF FLOODING THE SYSTEM WITH BAD LOANS IN HOPES OF DESTROYING THE CAPITALIST SYSTEM....their gift in it all THE CRA.... THEIR OTHER GIFT>GETTING BANKS TO PAY THEM OFF TO KEEP THEM HAPPY.
BIG QUESTION>WHERE IS THE FBI....THIS GROUPS ASS SHOULD BE BUSTED GOOD!
McCain/Palin 08
Posted by: It's time for some tough love>I'll vote for the one that will administer it | October 15, 2008 10:54 AM
" Own goals " , generally are accidents !! I do not see the Wall Street debacle the same way the Professor sees it, with all due respect !! This disaster, this scandal, was motivated by greed, and greed is no accident !! The Professor is right, regulations were the sentries that were supposed to be on guard, against the Greed, but unfortunately, for the American taxpayer, " Deregulation " , became the war-cry of the Bush-McCain-Gramm Republicans. With those sentries gone, Wall Streeters went on a gluttonous binge and we are stuck with the Party's bill, 2-3 Trillion Dollars !! Maybe we can get the Oil, Pharmaceutical, Insurance and Banking Corporations to pick up the tab, after all, they have been picking our pockets for the last half century !! They have all the money, now !! Let them pay their fair share !!!
SUPPORT OUR TROOPS, BRING THEM HOME, ALIVE AND WHOLE. NOW.
Posted by: Don Fitzgerald, Chicago | October 15, 2008 11:05 AM
Banks weren't forced to trade in the credit default swaps that are responsible for the current crisis. They chose to. The losses due to loose lending standards would have been a relatively small mess if not for the highly leveraged credit default swaps that Phil Gramm deregulated with his 262 page amendment to S.3283, "the Commodities Futures Modernization Act".
Posted by: Tom O | October 15, 2008 7:10 PM