Bear Sterns: One Year Later

" That's collapsing a year ago setting off. The financial firestorm that eventually brought present Obama into office our next guest. Donated generously to democratic candidates including the president last year. Let's find out if he's happy with mr. Obama's performance buffs are joining us now and these -- good -- he runs the hybrids capital which provides seed money to hedge funds. You -- are critical for Goldman Sachs and Lehman Brothers. So what about it."

" But some of them do and he looked me up on Gould reports showed up afraid solely on the oldest upload your life full disclosure I with the law school with the president. -- a couple of years behind me in law school I knew back -- I like him I think he's a terrific guide. I don't share his politics a 100% -- more right of center person economically. I think Cody and -- at a bar alone together we get a an agreement on most economic issues but the president is a good man he's doing things. In the best possible way he can which is measured. And aggressive for the problem you have to remember. That we learned something from the Great Depression all of us did none of us were around when it happened. But this is -- once and an eighty year calamity what we're experiencing right now what do we learn from the depression Ben Bernanke said at last Sunday on sixty minutes. We have to be aggressive. We have to be pro active and we have to protect. Banks. And the consumer who has deposits in these banks who get. And so -- the shareholders at all that's the premise that I have the biggest problem -- lost for shareholders protect the depositors okay Cody they're trying to attract private capital back into the banking industry. The biggest private capital command if they would wash out the sheriff I I I understand that but they already went down another path that they you have to remember the Bush Administration. Enacted to tap the talk programmer at least point to the congress with a TARP program you're a situation now where you've started down a road okay. And we can't wipe out the last six or seven months ago I remember back to September the fifteenth where people go back in history and say. That was a demarcation day of this crisis that was the twenty ninth of October 1929. We saw the death of Lehman Brothers we saw widespread panic in the markets. We saw a global panic it I was in Sydney Australia the day Lehman Brothers. -- movie there was panic is Sydney Australia as a true that was around the world. Put yourself in the seat the secretary of treasury. The Federal Reserve banking chairman and the president of the United States you're watching the markets melt down the -- you learn something from history. Bernanke road eight. -- thesis. On of the pressure. Now you're probably argue they should've let the free markets go and let these guys go watch out the shareholders and from the and frees up the system. But the minute they let Lehman Brothers fail. Everybody went to the sidelines and you said something variously early sixties we don't know what the rules are anymore. Yeah that's something I agree with the -- the government has a yacht a job as a blue and white Jersey with a whistle. Let me stop you fillets before you go there you said what we started down this road -- back in October. Why don't we have to continue down a path of spending when we may not need to that that make any sense okay Eric that's not my point. My point is. We made a decision rightly or wrongly to give out the -- money but -- we made a decision to try to keep these guys in business again and on saying about that. They said if we stay the course. You're going to see more lending and you can see in traction a private equity backing these markets OK that's the quickest road to recovery from here. If you want to go in reverse right now and bankrupt Goldman Sachs bankrupt Morgan Stanley as I do -- how much we know what's. But that's another nice -- insolvent without more welfare but that's the issue that's oversight we can keep up my right that's that's anger we need rational discourse right now please don't be offended by this Buffett said a couple of weeks ago this is an economic Pearl Harbor. It may not be an economic Pearl -- it actually may be a civil war. And could be an economic -- can work."

" So AIG yeah. It's related to receive another thirty. Billion dollars I mean with given everything that's happened with AIG should they get them back they're they're trying to clear these contracts out should they get that money should get the money as you are -- people out there to give eight -- flying another thirty billion how much money hardly -- actionable. Going to get directly about the -- as -- as far I asked some hot when I come up to me they asked. What do you guys doing."

" Okay but you have that you're going to run the danger that we ran in the Great Depression of an uprising of populism the -- The great congressman or senator you -- long you have forty wanted to do. We wanted to give everybody twice 500 bucks and he wanted to get my house sounds like Obama okay sounds like Bernanke of okay I don't think that's their game plan. Okay I think I think the -- Obama is a progressive. Bernanke is an economic historian of its hard not to like the guy okay. Now they they gave a little bit of a puff piece on sixty minutes please -- home -- middle class guy. With middle class values flying to help the country."

" Anthony Wright have you back to talk more about this because quite the viewers out there I -- I probably all of us as well I want to say -- the viewers I'm I'm I'm calling for rational discourse in this debate."

" I'm calling for a progressive isn't okay and I'm calling for his soothing of the anger. Okay so that we can get to the root of the problem and I'll leave you want -- thirty billion."

" Every -- funny you have we."

" We were talking about contract -- outlived the thirty -- can get my satellite contract professor we were talking about contract law one of these data. Heinemann okay think that's really what it -- a day -- and thank you guys are having sky bridge cap."