Our grandchildren will read about September 15, 2008 in their history books

[scheming daemons]

...the same way we read about October 29, 1929 in ours (Black Tuesday).


The day the Bush administration allowed Lehman Brothers to go under.


That was the day historians will say that what was going to be a recession became a depression.


Letting Lehman fail caused a panic in the banks that froze up credit. Most everything that happened since is a result of that panic.

They saved Bear Stearns... they saved AIG.. they saved Citi... they saved Merrill Lynch.



For $10 billion or so, they could've saved Lehman... and we'd still be in a recession now... a deep one... but there'd be a light at the end of the tunnel by summer.

The series of events that happened since 9/15/2008 that have plunged us on the brink all began because Bush and Paulson played favorites - and allowed a bank to fail.

They shortly saw their mistake and tried to make sure not to repeat it. But it was too late.



100 years from now, 9/15/2008 will be immortalized just like 10/29/1929.

[stray cat]

1. The problem is bigger than Lehman brothers

[scheming daemons]

2. yes... and the problem in 1929 was more than just a bad day on Wall Street

...but that event was the lynchpin that accelerated the downward spiral.

[bluestateguy]

3. It's Obama's 9/11

Obama now needs a "megaphone" moment, much like Bush with the megaphone with the firemen at the pile. Sure, it was a gimmick, but it rallied public support and generated fawning news coverage for weeks.

"I hear you, the rest of the world hears you, and the people who f8&#ked up this economy, will hear ALL OF US soon!"

[K Gardner]

4. I've heard this same analogy from several financial people re: Lehman. Also heard that

Lehman was run by mostly "democrats", which is why it was left to fail.. not sure that last part is true, but have heard that from people also.