Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Crayola Economists...



"Pointed Heads..."
Quants are often the most self-assured and robust* of economists, but are, predictably, rarely the sharpest crayons in the box...
              .... if you get my point.

None other than Nichols Taleb, of Black Swan fame, said this about the danger of the Robusterians**:

"The environment in financial economics is reminiscent of medieval medicine, which refused to incorporate the observations of the plebeian barbers and surgeons. Medicine used to kill more patients than it saved - just as financial economics endangers the system by creating, not reducing, risk."
(Financial Times,  Oct. 2007)

* robust - English, adj. meaning "written by an idiot."
** Robusterian - (see "robust") meaning  "a practicing idiot."

What has become of these failed and discredited theorists given the indisputable failure of their economic fallacies ?



An "(select from below)"
federal agency.
Well as you might suspect, when bad ideas and their robust prophets are exposed as failures in the real world of business, there is always one last resort, one last retreat, one last sanctuary where failure can continue to flourish and not be held to account. Where else but at an .... 

            
       .....  _____****_______ federal agency. 

  •           independent ?
  •           ineffective ?
  •           inexplicable ?
  •           indefensible ?
  •           inconsistent ?
  •           incompetent ?

      .... or just downright "in-barrassing" ?

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

If NCUA is robusterian, than the CFPB is robusterian on steroids!

Yet the credit union industry does not push back? Credit unions are about the people and if we do not argue for the best interests, certainly robusterian government agencies with limited over-site will never.

Time to buy the Crayola Box with the built in sharpener!

Anonymous said...

inept and INSANE !

Anonymous said...

inema agency.

Jim Blaine said...

Not sure how to interpret that "inema Agency" comment; it's a bit in-igmatic

...but assume it points out that NCUA always considers itself to be the driving force behind the credit union movement.

Anonymous said...

All of the above! but these choices suit credit unions. only 96000 more signatures needed on the petition. another failure by us and win for the agency. Have you signed it? How on earth is Chip Filson going to get it there? some big plan for the last week? I hope so! or are we doomed to be stuck with what we have. sure wish it would get on the deficit cutign radar and moved into FDIC.

Jim Blaine said...

Yes have signed the petition. Think its an important idea that succeeds with or without the 100,000 signatures. Why?

Because the real important part is the open candidacy idea -requiring a qualified, competent candidate - same calibre as Fed, FDIC Boards. The NCUA Board candidates must be approved by the Senate and I think you'll see a very firm, aggressive stance to block tne "shot in the dark", "somebody's cousin" nominees.

After all, as NCUA so proudly proclaims there is now $1 trillion at stake and more than 94 million Americans "at risk" thu the Agency.

We can't afford anymore "corporate accidents."

Anonymous said...

Understand idea about new Board members, but is there a process to recall existing Board members or to force them to step down ?

This won't wait.

Anonymous said...

ncua is definitely the "A Team" for the movement

Anonymous said...

The boys and girls at Big Blue definitely got our back, a rear guard action.

Anonymous said...

Better be careful about bending over in front of an examiner !

Anonymous said...

Close them up. FDIC !