books

Senseless Panic Book Review

senseless panic
Bill Isaac, former chair of the FDIC during the Savings & Loan Crisis and bail out critic, has written a new book, Senseless Panic: How Washington Failed America. If you want to read a definitive forensic accounting of the 1980's Savings and Loan crisis, this is the one to get.

The book is loaded with details, from someone who personally was involved in the past financial crisis. In fact Isaac lead the charge to try to stop the TARP bail out. The book is loaded with real world details yet written in a short but sweet, cut to the chase style. Take this examination of Tim Geithner's phone logs as an example, where you too will raise an eyebrow:

Disaster Capitalism

If you ever noticed how magically no-bid contractors sprung up upon the decision to invade Iraq or how conveniently the residents of New Orleans were bused out after Hurricane Katrina and the 9th ward was never rebuilt...how that little something isn't quite right fly buzzes in the back of your brain while you returned to economic survival of your own, I have a must read book for you.

The Shock Doctrine - The Rise of Disaster Capitalism by Naomi Klein.

Klein has identified a new corporate strategy of using natural and man made disasters to push through corporate profit driven privatization and other agendas while the general public are disoriented, confused and thus have no ability to resist.

She calls Disaster Capitalism the rapid-fire corporate reengineering of societies that are reeling from shock.