As I clicked through the interesting stories on RealClearMarkets today, one article in the LA Times stood out. Written by leading economist Niall Ferguson, it laid out a plan to bring about recover in the US (and, with a little luck, the world as well). Critical of neo-Keynesians, it suggests that insolvent banks be restructured rather than reorganized, to avoid the bureaucratic nightmare that would be government-run financial institutions. Then it prescribes a conversion of mortgages to lower interest rates and longer maturities, reducing the clamp on spending and saving that high interest payments are making on the American people.
These are seemingly good ideas, but that's not what got my attention. Only a few days ago, the FT ran an almost identical column by Ferguson. The fact that it was slightly different, but with the same general facts, figures, and ideas intrigued me. Searching more, I found the original article, "Beyond the Age of Leverage: Alternative Cures for the Global Financial Crisis," a combination of the other two articles. It's interesting to note the minor editorial changes made to target different audiences, but if you're mostly focused on his ideas, this is the one to read. As for Ferguson's suggestions to improve the economy, his arguments make a lot of sense in a world that seems to be operating in a lesser-of-two-evils mode.
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