Deal or No Deal

US Secretary of the Treasury Tim Geithner was interviewed by Charlie Rose last evening. I have a short clip of the interview below:


Here is a portion of the Huffington Post's take on the interview: Towards the end, the Treasury Secretary said that American capitalism "will be different" and the financial system too. But he expressed confidence that a plan that involved putting banks through stress test, shoring up the housing market, and removing the toxic assets away from the books through a combination of public and private capital would, in the end, get the economy running. American capitalism "will be different" and the financial system too. But he expressed confidence that a plan that involved putting banks through stress test, shoring up the housing market, and removing the toxic assets away from the books through a combination of public and private capital would, in the end, get the economy running.

All of this money talk got me thinking about the game show, "Deal or No Deal." You know, the flashy one hosted by comedian, Howie Mandel - with all of the girls and their bright gold suitcases. The part that always fascinates me about the show, is how so many people - many of whom really need the money - pass up good deals (sure things) to go for the unknown - the chance to win a million dollars. In listening to Geithner and all of the other talking heads on the news recently, I realized that for the last decade or so, our banks/government have been playing one big game of, "Deal or No Deal." They, and the millions who invested in them, were lured by the shiny suitcases, while having no idea what the suitcases actually held.

In some topsy-turvey world, it's like the role of Howie Mandel is being played by Bernie Madoff (I don't mean this as an insult to Howie - I love Howie). Except, instead of the contestants just losing the game - they lose much more - like homes and life savings. I have a clip from Deal or No Deal below. I always said that if I ever were on the show, I would go for the sure thing...but you never know: