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Monthly Archives: July 2013

Risk and Reset – Who Pays?

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Two news stories highlight the precarious nature of the restructuring that has laid the foundations for the next economy. They don’t seem to be related at all, but they highlight the twisted nature of “risk” and what it means when interest rates are low but investors are developing a renewed appetite for risk.

The first is the bankruptcy of Detroit, a long time coming, which was filed today.   The city has $18B in liabilities that they’d like to cut to $2B – hence a Chapter 9 liquidation filing, a declaration of surrender.  The city is beyond broken and needs to start again.  The second story is the rise of collateralized loan obligations (CLOs) and how our old friend Captain Morgain, er, JP Morgan is making a big bet on sketchy loans.

How are they related?  Both stories show risk laid bare, and both stories have a backstory of pushing the ol’ red button with RESET in big letters on it.

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White Privilege

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The news of George Zimmerman’s acquittal on all charges related to the death of Trayvon Martin bubbled through the sultry summer air.  Millions were angry and took to venting themselves on social media, but thankfully not with violence in the streets.  Millions were angry at those who were angry, generally claiming that racism works both ways.

There were so many things that fed into how it all went down on Trayvon’s last night on earth.  Florida’s horrible gun laws certainly made conviction nearly impossible.  They were born of a cultural PTSD endemic in a land wracked by violence that crackles with fight-or-flight adrenaline at the first sign of trouble – a biochemical instinct that sometimes becomes addictive.  I’m also sure that once the Sanford cops learned Trayvon was from Miami they were ready to assume the worst about him.  But all of that only amplifies and distorts the core problem, that of White Privilege.

White Privilege is generally little more than the benefit of the doubt.  But when the volume is turned up and the noise is deafening, only baser senses remain.  The simple benefit of the doubt often adrenalizes into violent, destructive action.

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Summing it Up

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Much has been happening lately, but the news is hard to digest.  For now, I’d rather stay with the economic news and summarize what I think is going on.  This post is largely a repeat from last year, but it makes a jumping-off point.  I think that the context of the news is extremely important because without it all we have is a senseless jumble of events and not a coherent understanding.

If we can’t grab what is happening around us and make it our own, how can we call ourselves a free and democratic society?  Barataria does what it can to offer a different way of looking at what is happening and relate it in story form, free of unexplained jargon.  Hopefully, this will help to make a more real and useful politics.

After a few months of big events and heavy articles, it’s time to summarize the Baratarian view on the big economic picture in one polemic and invite your comments.

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Summertime Party! (For Now)

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The US government ran a surplus in June!  Stocks are at all-time highs!  The party is starting in a big way in the normally lazy daze of summer.  Are you ready to join it?

Not so fast.  Barataria has been a source for positive economic news for at least a year now, but it’s always been tempered with caution.  Things are turning around, yes, but the headlines hide the work that still needs to be done to make this into something much bigger.   It’s up to all of us, really, to find a way to make it happen.

But we do have a party, at least as long as Ben Bernanke is buying.  He’s a fun guy, really.

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Economy Still Ahead at the Half

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It’s halftime!  2013 is half over, and data for another quarter is in.  It’s time to check in on Barataria’s predictions for the year and see how things are going.

The mainstream press has already latched onto the story of a recovery that is slow but gaining strength, so this is hardly news anymore.  But exactly how and why it is strong remains important in many ways.  This is a restructuring more than a traditional recovery after a recession, so it takes a lot of time.  The foundation has to be laid before the new economy can be framed on top of it.  That foundation came through in 2012, but progress has to continue in key areas to make it possible for the jump to a new boomtime around 2017 or so.

Break out the expensive commercials and grill the burgers, we have a game!

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