From "On Point" today: in the 1792 banking panic...

[Recursion]

...the chief financiers of the over-leveraged institutions went to debtor's prison. Hamilton quietly shifted some government debt-backed capital into banks that needed it (in exchange for equity), and saw the CEO's went to jail. Just sayin'.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

1. And Hammy was a Federalist.

:wow:


How far we've drifted.

[Mojambo]

2. Didn't Hamilton also REALLY take care of a bunch of his speculator buddies as well.

Maybe that was the war bonds...

In any event, Hamilton was no hero.

[melody]

3. Amen n/t

[rug]

6. No he didn't. He pushed for the new federal government to assume the war debts of the states.

He saw it was essential that the debt be national, not local, if the country was to gain any credibility and access to European credit. His argument for federal powers was a century ahead of his time. By contrast, Jefferson and Madison sounded like Jefferson Davis. The guy was outstanding.

[Mojambo]

7. Yes, but I believe he tipped off his speculator friends that the Feds were going to honor the bonds.

Meanwhile thousands of farmers and other working class Americans, believing the bonds to be worthless (as they would be if the Federal government didn't assume them), sold their bonds for pennies on the dollar to the very speculators Hamilton tipped off!

Hamilton was brilliant, but certainly no hero of mine.

[rug]

8. That's a centuries old slander.

A lot of Northern speculators sent agents South to buy up the scrip but it wasn't due to Hamilton. In fact, he insisted the 2nd Congress investigate the speculation and himself. He came up clean. A lot of the innuendo against him was circulated - as usual - for political gain. The Gazette wars of the time set the political parties into motion. The southern slave-holding utopians were aghast at the power Hamilton was bringing to the federal government. Jefferson was on the wrong side of history then. He changed many of his positions by his second term. The Chernow book on Hamilton is an eye-opener.

[Recursion]

9. I've got to go with rug here; Hamilton was the one good federalist

And frankly if Jefferson had won that debate we would have been eaten up piecemeal by European powers during the 19th century.

The charges that he precipitated or profited from the 1792 panic are as old as they are baseless. He was for a time the lone advocate even among the Federalists of sound money and federal debt. Washington never officially joined the Federalist party, but he made a point of supporting Hamilton's position which ended up being a good thing.

[Trillo]

4. Thanks! I wondered when someone would bring up the U.S. historical bank runs.

They happened frequently, if what I've read is true, before the Federal Reserve was created. The prevention of the frequent boom/bust cycles experienced in the U.S. was supposed to be one of the stated reasons for the Federal Reserve.

I guess we now know its true purpose.

[pansypoo53219]

5. take their money away.

worse than prison.

[elizfeelinggreat]

10. I'm with you

Confiscating ill-gotten gains is one way the government can redeem itself in the eyes of those who are PISSED OFF by this bail out.

[guitar man]

11. I agree

Take all their money, put an ankle bracelet on them and drop them off downtown. Tell them they are being monitored and the only rule is that they cannot call on their rich cronies for help. Other than that they are free to start "pulling themselves up by their bootstraps", sky's the limit.

Oh, one last thing, when they're dropped off, make sure they're barefooted. :evilgrin:

[mirror wall]

12. What is the title of this episode?

I'd like to hear it.

[OakCliffDem]

13. Debtor's prison? Today we have Golden Parachutes

Paid for with tax dollars