In an April 2008 post titled “Which one’s are the bad banks, anyway?”, I noted that the secretive FDIC list included some 76 institutions. The list is currently at 171. While both of those numbers are less than the total number of bank failures during the Great Depression and the Savings and Loan Crisis, the amount of money in play makes the case as to why this situation is comparable if not worse.
Yesterday was one of the few times my wife engaged me on politics and economics. (If anything, she usually chastises me for being too interested). She plainly asked me what’s going on and what it means for us. She asked if I thought it would be like the Great Depression, with people out of work, waiting in line at soup kitchens. I reflexively answered yes, and then spelled out my rationale.
After having the time to reflect on the question, my answers, the bailout, and the landscape as I see it, I can now say that I may have been wrong.
