A former vice chair of the Federal Reserve's Board of Governors argues that the United States created the worldwide economic downturn by pushing unreliable investment products abroad and that without government intervention the situation would have been worse. Then he tells us what we really want to know: what happens next.
[Page 56]. (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.As a former economics adviser in the Clinton administration and former Federal Reserve governor, Blinder (economics, Princeton Univ.) has a lot to say about the causes and consequences of the 2007-09 financial crisis. In a generally chronological account, the author runs through how poor lending practices, coupled with securitization and high degree of leverage, precipitated the crisis. He then covers the ameliorative emergency and long-term policies through late 2012, examining the consequential financial reform efforts with particular attention to the Dodd-Frank legislation. Blinder questions the failure to prevent more home foreclosures. He criticizes Republicans for obstructionism and the Obama administration for not better convincing the public of the necessity for stimulus, deficit spending, and radical Federal Reserve strategies. Looking forward, the text contemplates how the administration and the Federal Reserve will be able to unwind their stimulative policies, touching on the European crisis and concluding with a list of precepts to future crises. Blinder's explanations of complex topics simple, such as moral hazard and quantitative easing, are kept simple. VERDICT This work is highly recommended to all readers desiring a comprehensible postmortem of the economic and political ramifications of the financial crisis.--Lawrence Maxted, Gannon Univ. Lib., Erie, PA
[Page 96]. (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.As the U.S. economy desperately tries to crawl out of its gloomy cave, many still feel the impact of the 2007 financial crisis. Here, noted analyst Blinder (The Quiet Revolution) provides insights on why it happened, covering three critical questions: How did we get into this mess? What was done to correct problems? and have we learned anything? He opens by addressing the rise of unemployment rates and the housing market crash, with Blinder explaining what happened to big players like AIG, Merrill Lynch, and WaMu as they collapsed. He provides a clear critical analysis of the actions authorities proposed to prevent large corporations from crumbling, and offers his own opinion on how to fix the system. Later chapters explain the key weaknesses that predate the fateful summer of 2007, and what happened to the citizens, why the government took the actions it did, and why those policies were wise. As Blinder outlines the causes of the financial crisis, he acknowledges that questions still linger in the public mind: Has history taught us anything, or are we headed for a repeat of this kind of crisis? Agent: John Brockman, Brockman Inc. (Jan.)
[Page ]. Copyright 2012 PWxyz LLCAs the U.S. economy desperately tries to crawl out of its gloomy cave, many still feel the impact of the 2007 financial crisis. Here, noted analyst Blinder (The Quiet Revolution) provides insights on why it happened, covering three critical questions: How did we get into this mess? What was done to correct problems? and have we learned anything? He opens by addressing the rise of unemployment rates and the housing market crash, with Blinder explaining what happened to big players like AIG, Merrill Lynch, and WaMu as they collapsed. He provides a clear critical analysis of the actions authorities proposed to prevent large corporations from crumbling, and offers his own opinion on how to fix the system. Later chapters explain the key weaknesses that predate the fateful summer of 2007, and what happened to the citizens, why the government took the actions it did, and why those policies were wise. As Blinder outlines the causes of the financial crisis, he acknowledges that questions still linger in the public mind: Has history taught us anything, or are we headed for a repeat of this kind of crisis? Agent: John Brockman, Brockman Inc. (Jan.)
[Page ]. Copyright 2012 PWxyz LLC