Ezra Klein

The theory of this plan seems to be that we need need need the private sector to price these assets. But the guts of the proposal belie that. Indeed, as I wrote earlier, it almost looks as if the government is laundering its own price through the private sector — and the private sector is […]

I know talking about the A.I.G. bonuses is like, so last week, but reports that the administration is planning to release a new proposal to regulate executive compensation gives me a peg for this point. Intellectually, I’m of the crowd that thinks the A.I.G. bonuses don’t deserve the continued focus of the political system. One […]

The President stopped by the briefing room this morning to say a few words on Geithner’s plan: [T]his morning, Secretary Geithner announced the latest element in this multi-pronged approach, and that is a mechanism that he, in close consultation with the Federal Reserve and the FDIC, has initiated in order to allow banks to take […]

One of the big topics last week was the prospect of pushing health reform and cap-and-trade through the reconciliation process. The rec process, as you may know, short-circuits the filibuster and creates a 50-vote Senate. But it also plays havoc with the language and text of your bill. I have a piece today explaining the […]

This feels like the sort of question I should be asking Tyler Cowen, but let’s throw it open here. What fiction is most appropriate, and illuminating, in this moment? I’m looking for the culture of Wall Street, of riches, of wealth. The world and specifics of finance. Great Gatsby has to be on there, if […]

And all she got was this lousy blog post. (Okay, it’s actually a very good blog post.)

The Treasury Department’s fact sheet on the “Public Private Investment Program” — which I hope will now be pronounced “pip” — can be downloaded here. The white paper can be downloaded here.

Karen Tumulty twitters, “GOP Congressman Connie Mack is on CNN calling on Geithner to resign. Message undercut by screentag showing Dow up 288 pts.” I’m no Connie Mack fan, but I’m not comfortable letting the Dow’s reaction stand as the arbiter of success or failure. Dean Baker wrote a prescient post on this subject last […]

That’s Paul Krugman’s view. In his column today, he writes that, “if this plan fails — as it almost surely will — it’s unlikely that he’ll be able to persuade Congress to come up with more funds to do what he should have done in the first place.” I’m not sure about this on two […]