Cut Them Down to Size

Go read Krugman’s column from today.

Don’t Cry for Wall Street

”More than that, reform actually should hurt the bankers. A growing body of analysis suggests that an oversized financial industry is hurting the broader economy. Shrinking that oversized industry won’t make Wall Street happy, but what’s bad for Wall Street would be good for America.“

If you’ll remember, quite some time ago I told you about a book called American Theocracy. It’s the subtitle that explains the link for today’s thoughts -- The Peril and Politics of Radical Religion, Oil, and Borrowed Money in the 21st Century. One major premise of the book is that a financial sector that is too large becomes a drain on the country. In simple terms, if much of your economy is based on making money off of money -- instead of manufacturing, trade or exploration -- history says you’re headed for trouble.

We have not defied history.

What American Theocracy and Paul Krugman are saying is that our graduating PhDs should become engineers, scientists and doctors -- not quants on Wall Street.

Don Brown
April 23, 2010