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Was our country’s economic success before the Crash of ‘08 built on false pretenses? Did we simply borrow and spend too much, or was something else really going on? The conventional wisdom now accuses Wall Street and the mortgage industry of using predatory tactics to seduce homeowners. Meanwhile, average Americans are blamed for increasing consumption to unsustainable levels by borrowing recklessly. And the tax policies of the Reagan and Bush administrations are blamed for encouraging reckless risk-taking. Edward Conard disagrees. In an attempt to set the record straight he presents a fascinating new case for how the economy really works, why the U.S. has outperformed other countries, what caused the financial crisis, and what improvements might better protect our economy without damaging growth.
To be honest I have not read this book yet. But based on the second bullet point I question either his knowledge of the circumstances of the housing bubble or his desire to discuss it accurately. Most of the "predatory lenders" took mortgages with little or no down payment because the days of the originating lender keeping the loans had passed. Instead, they quickly sold the mortgage to a Wall Street firm to be packaged as a bond and sold for profits to investors. There was no risk to the original lender, all he had to do is make the deal, sell it to someone else and make a nice commission.This is precisely why there was such a huge jump in sub-prime, Alt-A, low-doc and ninja mortgages that made the housing bubble grow and then pop. I question the credibility of anyone writing authoritatively on this subject. who appears not to be aware of this fact.
7 out of 27 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted May 12, 2012
What caused the financial crisis? How do we speed up recovery? And how do we, as a nation, avoid getting ourselves stuck in the traps we landed in during the 2008 financial crisis? Unintended Consequences is a fresh and different look at the U.S.'s economic woes. This is a great gift for anyone interested in the economy, growth and innovation, and best practices for helping the middle class and working poor.
4 out of 7 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.merchiebum
Posted July 29, 2012
Should be required reading for high level federal government officials. I gave it 4 stars only because, quite frankly: I didn't understand all of it. I'm sure Milton Friedman, if he were alive today, would highly recommend this book. I highly recommend it for anyone wanting to learn about economic reality as opposed to economic policy spin from Washington DC
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Greyhound-Dad
Posted August 1, 2012
I tried: I really tried to read Mr. Conard's book, but I was unable to follow his logic. I suppose as a Ph.D. I am more accustomed to reading research papers that provide cites for fact statements or emphirical evidence to justify a conclusion. However, Mr. Conard wrote in a style I would attribute more to Rush Limbaugh and I found his arguments less than convincing. I really am trying to understand the Republican positions on the economy, but this book only muddied the water in my opinion.
2 out of 9 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted April 12, 2013
If you would like to understand the context of Mitt Romney's "47%" statements this is the book for you. It describes a set of beliefs that argues why wealthy capitalists should be richly rewarded for their accomplishments, and honored and supported by the remaining 99% for their wealth. The book consists of 285 pages extolling the virtue and worth of wealthy capitalists/investors, explaining how any government "interference" is well-meaning but misguided, and extolling the benefits the "little people" would receive from supporting the wealthy.
I went "tilt" quite a bit. I found many of his examples/analysis misleading (companies are grand because they spend 70% of their take on labor, leaving only 30% for the capitalists; unfortunately, the cited labor percentage includes the massive renumeration for the top executives who, after all, are "labor" as much as any minimum-wage front-line employee in this accounting.) The book is full of such statements which are open to challenge.
An example of the author's mindset from page 276 "A shortage of talent exists, in part, because a large number of college graduates refuse to take the risk and responsibility necessary to bring unrealized investment opportunities to fruition. Art history and Elizabethan poetry don't employ workers; the arduous and tedious application of businesses sciences such as computer programming and accounting does. ..For the sake of those less fortunate, we must persuade our vast supply of underutilized talent that they have amoral obligation to lead and innovate." Pretty much sums up the tone of the book.I was hoping for a conservative view of our economy's performance over the past decade or so. Instead I read an apologia for a second Gilded Age. Don't waste your time with this book; buy/read something from a conservative economist such as Thomas Sowell instead.
And I write this review as a staunch capitalist.
Anonymous
Posted May 7, 2012
No text was provided for this review.
Anonymous
Posted October 28, 2012
No text was provided for this review.
Overview
Was our country’s economic success before the Crash of ‘08 built on false pretenses? Did we simply borrow and spend too much, or was something else really going on? The conventional wisdom now accuses Wall Street and the mortgage industry of using predatory tactics to seduce homeowners. Meanwhile, average Americans are blamed for increasing consumption to unsustainable levels by borrowing recklessly. And the tax policies of the Reagan and Bush administrations are blamed for encouraging reckless ...