You and I make a bet and we lose, well, that's our problem. Citigroup makes a bet and it loses, and it goes whining to the Treasury, saying the markets aren't fair. I just don't think that's how it's supposed to work.

Monday, October 29, 2007
Marketplace Radio


People call it the "super fund." And where I come from -- you know, in New Jersey -- super fund is something that has waste on it that the government's supposed to clean up. I can't believe they're using that term! But why is it that if somebody like Citigroup makes a mistake and gets caught in a bad position, people run to its defense and say, "Well, it shouldn't have to sell its assets below their real value." Whereas if Scott Jagow or Allan Sloan buys a house with 100 percent financing, and it turns out we're gonna sell the house it's worth less than we borrowed, we don't get to say, "Well, we don't think this price is appropriate, even though the mortgage is due and our debt is rolling over." I mean, this is crazy.

Monday, October 22, 2007
Marketplace Radio