April 20, 2009
Former Goldman Sachs investment banker Talbott (Obamanomics
) delivers a tightly written analysis of the financial crisis that while sufficiently credible and engaging, adds little to the conversation. Talbott launches a tirade against prevalent myths conveniently categorized as “Stock Investing Lies,” “Lies About the Global Economy,” etc. He summarily attacks the U.S. government, lobbyists, the media, Alan Greenspan and Henry Paulson, and pronounces the entire global banking system insolvent. Despite some bravado behind these sweeping claims, many of his assertions are convincing—the roots of the collapse of our economy are a lack of regulation, conflicts of interest between business and government and a preponderance of lying and cheating. Talbott sometimes stumbles (e.g., stating that companies that make addictive products are not good investments even when they consistently outperform other sectors) and while he promises to offer real solutions, he provides ideas that will win few fans, such as allowing the economy to contract, creating new bankruptcy processes to deal with the corporate fallout and permitting the government to inflate the currency.