tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222630007427380394.post2704678887005090115..comments2023-12-20T04:18:41.617-06:00Comments on The Hunting of the Snark: Megan McArdle On Elizabeth Warren: The Takedown To End All TakedownsSusan of Texashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00076915322771385454noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222630007427380394.post-61705816637446735082010-08-05T11:28:09.760-05:002010-08-05T11:28:09.760-05:00The thing that keeps bugging me about her write-up...The thing that keeps bugging me about her write-up is that the bill DOESN'T stop banks from offering all those "innovative" products, those products just have more stringent disclosure requirements. The only "innovation" disclosure shuts down is the "hey, let's cheat our customers by not really telling them clearly what they're signing!" God knows that's been a money-maker for lenders, but no real free-marketeer would ever support that sort of maneuver because that leads to a market that is not free; the question arises, then, why does Megan support it? Why also does she disparage the "plain vanilla" option, standard loan products all banks would offer IN ADDITION TO THEIR "INNOVATIVE" ONES so customers could actually compare apples to apples?tigrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00685093476177441655noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222630007427380394.post-7874849462356871922010-08-05T09:36:18.557-05:002010-08-05T09:36:18.557-05:00Very well said, Batocchio. One of the biggest pro...Very well said, Batocchio. One of the biggest problems I have with capitalism is that it assumes the only motivation human beings have for doing anything is personal profit and greed. People like Megan who are completely lacking in any intellectual curiosity can't possibly understand that the motivation might just be as simple as the pursuit of knowledge or providing something useful to others. Megan doesn't need to research, because she's the product of an intellectually intimidating family, which naturally makes her the same (talk about revealing insecurities...what does intellectually intimidating even mean? I know there are people smarter than me, who know more about other subjects, but I don't find them <i>intimidating</i>, just better read in certain areas). The irony of her thinking is with that attitude, she couldn't be more boring, average, uninteresting, and so easy to dismiss. All the while believing herself to be among the elite. It's almost comedy.Clever Pseudonymhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00782313892753904678noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222630007427380394.post-38274220660130021332010-08-05T08:49:14.212-05:002010-08-05T08:49:14.212-05:00I don't think we're going to get another b...I don't think we're going to get another big post on Warren, since McArdle was so veeeeeery careful be neutral. Sigh.<br /><br />She did the same thing once before--she promised us a post on authoritarianism and never delivered, even though I wrote a post saying how much I was looking forward to reading it.Susan of Texashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00076915322771385454noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222630007427380394.post-16986240938071962802010-08-05T04:59:40.554-05:002010-08-05T04:59:40.554-05:00Plain vanilla sucks if you prefer pink Himalayan s...Plain vanilla sucks if you prefer pink Himalayan salt ice cream.<br /><br />A fixed rate (a reasonably low one) generally works better for the customer, and the bank still makes a ridiculous profit. So what's the problem?<br /><br />Only a Galt-Cato fucknut could think that the financial industry is really about "innovation," or that "innovation" in the financial industry means anything more than figuring out "how can we screw our customers over even more?" Like Krugman's said, banking used to be the safe, boring profession, and it should be again. If bankers are providing a useful service and making a steep profit at it, that's more than enough for them. Micro-loans to the poor could be considered genuinely "innovative," but those really were devised by charities, not banks. As usual, Megan's pitch doesn't match what she's actually selling. <br /><br />Go back an issue to health care reform – it's not just that McMegan is dumb and lazy, it's that she couldn't conceive of the fact that innovation isn't dependent on the free market. The free market will drive some innovations, but they tend to be narrow and immediate. Pure research typically requires some sort of far-sighted government funding. And oddly enough, while doctors would like to be well paid, they're generally not in the research business just for the cash. Some would like the fame and prestige from a breakthrough, but many more are driven by sheer geek curiosity, or the exciting idea that they <i>might actually help their fellow human beings</i>. Glibertarians can only really conceive of personal profit as a motivation, which is why they're so clueless about designing most systems and so ignorant of human nature. <br /><br />Only a naïve simpleton could believe that McMegan isn't "hostile" toward Elizabeth Warren. (Yeah, and the vampires aren't hostile to Buffy, either.)Batocchiohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02193752396025012825noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222630007427380394.post-14419979498282867422010-08-05T00:06:48.078-05:002010-08-05T00:06:48.078-05:00Fooled me there. I thought it was the real Warrenp...Fooled me there. I thought it was the real Warrenpocalypse.TBogghttp://tbogg.firedoglake.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222630007427380394.post-89398339367287626672010-08-04T18:28:35.118-05:002010-08-04T18:28:35.118-05:00You're doing it wrong, anon. You don't say...You're doing it wrong, anon. You don't say it's hypothetical until someone asks you where that number you just presented as a fact came from. <br /><br />Only THEN do you say "it was hypothetical" in a condescending way, implying that only stupid people who come from stupid families wouldn't understand it. You have to find diverse and subtle ways to remind people that you're smarter than them by birth. Otherwise they may start thinking that the stupid things that you say aren't the product a superior, elite mind, but the lucubrations of a moron.MMDnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222630007427380394.post-33910836433978107672010-08-04T16:28:06.466-05:002010-08-04T16:28:06.466-05:00Doesn't Warren know that if banks aren't a...<i>Doesn't Warren know that if banks aren't allowed to create ARMs, financial innovation will be destroyed and millions of mortgages will die horrible deaths? </i> Indeed, 80% of the mortgages in the world are ARMs. I mean, hypothetically if.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222630007427380394.post-83104289145772318882010-08-04T15:46:56.647-05:002010-08-04T15:46:56.647-05:00Of course, what "plain vanilla" means is...Of course, <a href="http://blogs.consumerreports.org/money/2009/08/consumer-reports-consumer-financial-protection-agency-elizabeth-warren-interview-cfpa-plain-vanilla-mortgage-banks-lenders-fi.html" rel="nofollow">what "plain vanilla" means</a> is that there will be a couple standard options that will be less regulated because they adhere to certain standards. Other mortgages can still be offered, but will have to operate within a more rigorous regulatory framework requiring that stuff be spelled out. Interesting is McArdle's whine on paperwork: one of the main goals of the "Restoring American Financial Stability Act" is to improve paperwork, by making it easier to understand and to <a href="http://www.law.harvard.edu/news/2010/02/09_warren.html" rel="nofollow">"slim down paperwork"</a>.tigrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00685093476177441655noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222630007427380394.post-84674553394391387052010-08-04T15:31:14.648-05:002010-08-04T15:31:14.648-05:00God forbid she should get into talking about her e...God forbid she should get into talking about her expertise in exercise and weight loss too.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222630007427380394.post-43514558924655424212010-08-04T15:28:08.607-05:002010-08-04T15:28:08.607-05:00Most right wing supporters look and write and spea...Most right wing supporters look and write and speak as stupidly as they actually are. Megan uses "the terminology" (according to my winger brother) and -almost- sounds like she knows the subject.<br /><br />She just hates it when commenters pull back the curtain, because she's standing there <i>stark naked</i>.Kathyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03176801494652946278noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222630007427380394.post-58360090562039685072010-08-04T14:16:00.525-05:002010-08-04T14:16:00.525-05:00Well, being a great libertarian intellectual from ...Well, being a great libertarian intellectual from an intellectual family means that you're never, ever wrong--even when you are.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222630007427380394.post-5715702529770464112010-08-04T13:14:44.250-05:002010-08-04T13:14:44.250-05:00The easy shots might detract from the bigger point...The easy shots might detract from the bigger point, plus no matter how much stupid you cover, there's always more.Susan of Texashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00076915322771385454noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222630007427380394.post-8920141266685951702010-08-04T13:07:10.135-05:002010-08-04T13:07:10.135-05:00How in the world are you able to resist the easy s...How in the world are you able to resist the easy shots?<br /><br /><i> I requires heroic effort to read every document.</i><br /><br /><br /><i>I'm pretty good with paperwork, and I understand all the terms being used (not to mention the laws being referenced), and I find it impossible to keep track of it all mentally </i><br /><br /><i>Now, I don't really need seven days to calculate my APR, but I can't waive the provision, because otherwise, the naive would be too easily taken advantage of. </i> <br /><br />All the millions of years it took to eveolve self-awareness, washed away in a light drizzle.Downpuppyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10312490198813632190noreply@blogger.com