'Masters of the Universe' Sure Have Fragile Egos

It would be funny, if it weren't so 'shameful': Paul Krugman
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted May 25, 2012 1:08 PM CDT
'Masters of the Universe' Sure Have Fragile Egos
From left, Goldman Sachs' Lloyd Blankfein, JPMorgan Chase's Jamie Dimon, Morgan Stanley's John Mack, and Bank of America's Brian Moynihan testify on Capitol Hill in 2010.   (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Paul Krugman has some choice words today for the titans of Wall Street, who can't seem to take a little criticism from the president. "It has, in a way, been funny to see how childish and thin-skinned the Masters of the Universe turn out to be," he writes in the New York Times. But given the mess that these bailed-out "spoiled brats" have caused, it's actually "shameful" that they're more concerned about their reputations than solutions.

On that track, Krugman debunks what he calls a modern "fairy tale"—that private equity firms such as Mitt Romney's Bain Capital swooped in, provided tough love to a lazy American workforce, and saved the economy. It's all bunk, he writes. "The alleged productivity surge never actually happened. In fact, overall business productivity in America grew faster in the postwar generation, an era in which banks were tightly regulated and private equity barely existed, than it has since our political system decided that greed was good." Read his full column here. (More bankers stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X