Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Go Long on "Pitchforks and Torches"--Ritholtz

Barry Ritholtz displays a somewhat aggressive sub-mask.

Barry Ritholtz, CEO of Fusion IQ, says the current bailout bonanza is "absolutely asinine" and believes there's no good reason the U.S. government should be rescuing the debt holders and counterparties of firms like AIG and Citigroup.

"Why do you and I as taxpayers have to make good some bet that Goldman or Deutsche Bank [or Pimco] made?," he asks. "When you lend money to an insolvent institution, you're not supposed to be made whole."

You mean I can't get a bailout for losing at Grand National Poker?

Ritholtz predicts Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner will eventually abandon his current strategy of trying to keep zombie banks alive by any means possible.

If not, "I wany to get long torches and pitchforks because eventually the taxpayer is going to figure out how badly they're getting screwed," he says - only half-jokingly.

(Barry missed the guns and ammo longs.)

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