The limits of finance

Dude, where's the Dharma: "Henry Paulson's appointment to the position of Treasury Secretary brings yet another Goldman Sachs player (Joshua Bolton was recently made Chief of Staff) to the Bush team. Upon hearing the news of Paulson's appointment my first thought was that the US has been declared bankrupt and Goldman Sachs has been appointed receiver. Perhaps holders of US debt are getting a bit antsy with the 'deficits don't matter' approach of Cheney et. al.

This is to invert the arrow of causation described in most press reports. Rather than thinking the Bush team chose Mr. Paulson, perhaps it was the global financiers, worried about the most recent spike in commodity prices, inter alia, who are driving the changes. Most press reports suggest that Mr. Paulson will have a much greater voice in policy than his predecessors, which fits with the inverted arrow of causation model. Goldman Sachs will now be driving US financial policy.Henry Paulson's appointment to the position of Treasury Secretary brings yet another Goldman Sachs player (Joshua Bolton was recently made Chief of Staff) to the Bush team. Upon hearing the news of Paulson's appointment my first thought was that the US has been declared bankrupt and Goldman Sachs has been appointed receiver. Perhaps holders of US debt are getting a bit antsy with the 'deficits don't matter' approach of Cheney et. al.

This is to invert the arrow of causation described in most press reports. Rather than thinking the Bush team chose Mr. Paulson, perhaps it was the global financiers, worried about the most recent spike in commodity prices, inter alia, who are driving the changes. Most press reports suggest that Mr. Paulson will have a much greater voice in policy than his predecessors, which fits with the inverted arrow of causation model. Goldman Sachs will now be driving US financial policy."