Trickle Down
This column was written by CBS News Early Show Co-Anchor Harry Smith.
Okay, assume for a minute that the massive infusions of cash from the federal government into the financial system in this country will indeed stop the carnage that has befallen some of the biggest names on Wall Street and some of the biggest banks in America.
Assume that the direct infusion of billions of dollars into the banks complete with a guarantee that any of the money they loan each other will be backed up by the Fed, will finally begin to thaw the frozen credit markets that have brought so many business and even government entities to a virtual halt.
Assume all of this works. All of it.
What happens next will not be pleasant.
The recession that dared not to speak its name that has been brewing for these last half dozen months or so, will be the bitter tea we have to drink for the foreseeable future.
Speaking to Paul Krugman this morning, the new Nobel Laureate in economics, he said "it looks like a nasty recession, with a lot of momentum behind it."