(email exchange)
As I’ve said all along, the problem is best addressed from the bottom up- restore incomes and employment via a payroll tax holiday and a check for $300 billion for the states.
That ends the financial crisis and its effect on the real economy.
Then Congress attempt to rationally address other fiscal action on its merits beyond fixing the crisis.
>
> On Thu, Feb. 12, Morris wrote:
>
> Part of the problem the banks confront is that their
> loans continue to deteriorate. This limits their ability
> to initiate new loans, makes them tighten lending
> standards and clouds their business visibility. The
> proper visual is a ship taking on water while the
> crew is trying to bail out the ship. If the ship takes
> on water too quickly it will sink, if the crew can plug
> the whole and bail out the ship the ship will float.
> This is state of affairs of most banks at the
> moment. The ultimate success of these bailouts &
> workouts will take hold when the rate of credit
> deterioration slows or stops.
>
Ross Says Investors Will Wait for Bank Writedowns
by Jason Kelly and Carol Massar
Feb 12 (Bloomberg) — Wilbur Ross, the billionaire investor who focuses on distressed assets, said private funds won’t join President Obama’s plan to buy toxic mortgages until banks reduce the value of the
securities on their books.
“The reason the assets haven’t changed hands is they haven’t been
properly marked,” Ross said in an interview with Bloomberg Television
yesterday at his New York office, referring the process of valuing investments based on market prices. “His idea of doing public/private partnerships is correct. The private sector is very good at price
discovery.”
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