Christopher Jagers

Sunday, April 4, 2010

Mike Burry’s Letter to Greenspan

Mike Burry wrote a letter to Greenspan in this Sunday’s NYTimes explaining how he saw the crisis coming, how he bet it would happen, and how he made tons of money. His basic point is that he (and others) saw this coming and could demonstrate it. Yet the Fed maintained that nobody could have predicted this crisis. Once the details are outlined, it seems like the looming crisis was blatantly clear, yet everyone was blindly following the crowd out of short-term greed.

The conclusion of Burry’s letter is powerful and necessary:

“at this point there is no reason to reflexively dismiss the analysis of those who foresaw the crisis. Mr. Greenspan should use his substantial intellect and unsurpassed knowledge of government to ascertain and explain exactly how he and other officials missed the boat. If the mistakes were properly outlined, that might both inform Congress’s efforts to improve financial regulation and help keep future Fed chairmen from making the same errors again.”

When Mr. Greenspan was asked about Burry’s letter on “This Week,” (04/04/2010) he reflexively dismissed Burry as a statistical anomaly. Basically, Greenspan’s reasoning was that nobody agreed or saw the same problem. In other words, he was following the crowd, which is exactly what produced the problem. He should have known better.

This response by Greenspan was inadequate. Clear reasons have been given why some people did see the crisis coming. He has never given a content-rich analysis of those reasons (and why the Fed missed them). If financial reform is going to be successful, the leaders of our country need to start explaining things in clear terms, rather than use the same complexity to hide their own mistakes.

posted by cjagers at 11:34am 1 comment

Sunday, March 28, 2010

Mom’s Mariachi Birthday

For my mother’s birthday today, we surprised her with a Mariachi Band. Great fun all day. See full album here.

posted by cjagers at 07:29pm Add comment

Saturday, March 27, 2010

Brooklyn Botanical Gardens

The Brooklyn Botanical Gardens was stunningly beautiful this Saturday morning. It is a museum of living plants, secluded within Prospect Park. Full album here. Above is a plant within an area populated by plants from Shakespeare’s writing. Reminded me of this quote:

“Our bodies are gardens; to which our wills are gardeners: so that if we will plant nettles or sow lettuce, set hyssop and weed thyme, supply it with one gender of herbs or distract it with many, either have it sterile with idelness or manured with industry, why, the power and corrigible authority of this lies in our wills.”

(lago, in Othello, Act I, scene 3).

posted by cjagers at 10:52am Add comment

Saturday, March 20, 2010