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10 October 2008

Ten Most Wanted: Culprits of the Collapse

Hiding in the Ivory tower, I did not feel any impacts of this financial collapse until several friends in Los Angels told me that they were laid off and looking for new jobs. In contrast, another friend who owned a real estate appraisal firm said that his business actually became better, because more people came to re-evaluate their housing values. I am not sure if there is a direct causal effect of the financial collapse on my friends' unemployment. But a more interesting question, which arises very often these days, is what are the causes of the financial collapse, or say who shall be responsible for the financial collapse. Mortgage lenders, greedy wall-Street investment banks, the government with loose regulations, home buyers or any others? As quantitative social scientists, are we able and how able are we to answer to this kind of question? Before building any models, whether formal or empirical, let's see what Anderson Copper has gotten for us.

Over the last couple of weeks we've heard politicians tell us that now is not the time to point fingers and blame people for the financial crisis. I remember them saying that in the days after Hurricane Katrina as well. The truth is that's what politicians always say. They mean that now is the time to fix the problem, but once the world's attention moves on, the time for hold people accountable never seems to arrive. Politicians point fingers at members of the opposite party, but no one ever seems to take real responsibility.

So who is to blame for this financial fiasco? That's the question we've begun investigating. We've put together a list of the Ten Most Wanted: Culprits of the Collapse. This week and next week, every night, we will be adding a name to the list and telling you what they have done, and how much it's costing you. It's a rogues gallery of Wall Street executives, politicians, and government officials who did not do their jobs. It's time you know their names, their faces, it's time they be asked to account for their actions. (Excerpt from AC360)

Think about the models while enjoying the videos!

http://ac360.blogs.cnn.com/category/culprits-of-the-collapse/

Posted by Weihua An at October 10, 2008 6:56 PM