Liar's Poker author on this crisis

[Gilles de Rais]

http://www.portfolio.com/news-market...ets-Boom#page1

I would encourage you to read the whole 9 pages. Especially if you have read Liar's Poker, the last pages are bittersweet. If only Youth knew. If only Age had the energy... Swan song for the Kings of Wall Street...

We'll be back!

[Tom Joad]

Thanks Giles.

You are right. Everybody needs to read this.

This article goes a long way toward confirmng and explaining what I have suspected for quite a while.

That this Wall street bailout goes way beyond what can be explained by subprime mortgage defaults.

It appears to me that by the time this is all over it’s going to cost the taxpayers well beyond the amount that it would take to pay off every subprime mortgage in the country.

We are also talking about a lot more than bad business practices.

A whole lot of people need to go to prison for this.

[Gilles de Rais]

Originally Posted by Tom Joad

It appears to me that by the time this is all over it’s going to cost the taxpayers well beyond the amount that it would take to pay off every subprime mortgage in the country.

Yeah but not because of the side bets per se, if that's what you're referring to (side bets is how Lewis explains synthetic CDOs). Alt-A are going bad, commercial rentals/properties as well, Credit cards etc etc. The whole economy seems poised to unravel...

We are also talking about a lot more than bad business practices.

What are you thinking of?

[Tom Joad]

Originally Posted by Gilles de Rais

What are you thinking of?

I'm no lawyer, but the "F" word (fraud) comes to mind.