Old times there are not forgotten

[mgc1961]

As we look for ways to prevent future financial crises, many questions should be asked. Here’s one you may not have heard: What’s the matter with Georgia?

I’m not sure how many people know that Georgia leads the nation in bank failures, accounting for 37 of the 206 banks seized by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation since the beginning of 2008. These bank failures are a symptom of deeper problems: arguably, no other state has suffered as badly from banks gone wild.

To appreciate Georgia’s specialness, you need to realize that the housing bubble was a geographically uneven affair. Basically, prices rose sharply only where zoning restrictions and other factors limited the construction of new houses. In the rest of the country — what I once dubbed Flatland — permissive zoning and abundant land make it easy to increase the housing supply, a situation that prevented big price increases and therefore prevented a serious bubble.


More at http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/12/opinion/12krugman.html?hp


Real leaders stand up. They stand up for what's right. Real leaders also speak out when they see wrong coming about.

Tennessee saw some real leaders step forward this past week when the Chambers of Commerce in the state's four biggest cities said in a letter to members of the General Assembly that a bill that would require driver's license exams be given in English "sends a powerful and negative message that our state — and our cities, as engines of the state economy — are unwelcoming to foreign investment'' and could drive people away from Tennessee.

"As CEOs of the state's four large urban chambers (Chattanooga, Knoxville, Memphis and Nashville), we are writing to express our support for the current practice of allowing driver license tests to be administered in multiple languages,'' the letter said. "As a state government, Tennessee has worked hard to create an image and a friendly environment for international business, residents, legal immigrants and refugees who are integrating themselves for our communities.


There's more at http://www.tennessean.com/article/20100411/OPINION01/4110332/1007/opinion/Breaking+News+Editorial+++Pro-English++bill+is+a++con++for+TN