Party, party, party

The front page of today's LA Times includes "State Closer to Tax Refund IOUs". The front page of today's WSJ includes "When It Comes to Cash, a Thai Village Says, 'Baht, Humbug!' ... To Beat Credit Crisis, Santi Suk Supplements National Currency With One of Its Own Making."

If central bankers around the world can throw a party, so can others. Yes, we all know how this ends. But how many times have I heard serious people intone that the Fed is watching and will step in to sop up liquidity once things get out of hand? These sentiments come from people who are thrashing the Greenspan Fed from the other side of their mouths.

It is the same as fretting over the actions or inactions of the previous SEC but pronouncing that the next cadre of regulators will do a better job. Why? The next group will be staffed by people from the same gene pool, facing the same constraints and similar temptations.