The United States entered recession end of 2007

In ancient times, the original sin of Adam had expelled human of earthly paradise. In modern times, it is the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers, who replaced him. By dropping the New York Investment Bank, the United States authorities would have caused the worst economic disaster in a century. And if it was time to subject this grid of reading, a year after the historic event

First, the finance did not wait the collapse of the Lehman House to go wrong. The number two of the housing credit to the less affluent Americans, New Century Financial, has collapsed in April 2007, a year and a half earlier. Three months later, two German banks went bankrupt. Then the European Central Bank dumped hundreds of billions of euros on bleeding markets. In March 2008, a rival of Lehmann, Bear Stearns, resumed in disaster by JP Morgan. In September, a week before the episode Lehman, the US State saves Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, two giants of mortgage refinancing to thousands of billions of dollars to their creditors. No, the finance was not well. The economy nor, indeed. The United States entered recession end of 2007. China fell down mid-2008. France, the distribution Giants have observed a sharp break in May 2008. This is not the Lehman bankruptcy which resulted in the reversal of the activity. And in 1929, this is not the crash of October 24, which threw the world into turmoil. In the past three months, industrial production had unscrewed 10 in the United States.

Of course, it would be foolish to deny that the Lehman bankruptcy has caused unprecedented panic, a terrible frost of bank loans, a race to the cash deadly, a collapse of world trade from 38 in six months. And yet, this bankruptcy may have been a chance. Not only because capitalism where bankruptcy is impossible is doomed to become a form of communism. Step only because it showed the many dummies and truffles who doubted the existence of systemic risk (sometimes to preserve their interests) that this risk is real, and it is therefore legitimate to take measures for protection. But also because it could be even worse! It is sufficient to realize to ask a simple question: that is that is would be passed if Washington had saved Lehman

The first answer is given by one of the men of international finance, which emphasizes the deep reluctance of American opinion and the Congress for actions of the "fat cats" rescue of Wall Street. For him, if the Bush administration had put all its weight in the balance to save Lehman, it perhaps should have release AIG, the insurer saved the next day. However, AIG was at the heart of the World Bank, Lehman was a secondary player. With its "credit default swaps", he guaranteed the thousands of billions of dollars of credit. His fall would have thrown the carpet all major banques of the planet.

And if Wall Street had been saved of the implosion, the poison would have continued to flow in the veins of finance. Because, for years, too large risk taken by the bankers, one way or another, gangrenaient their accounts. Loans imprudent housing, credit cards too heated, acrobatiques financing of LBO, delusions of securitization business... All these excess could lead to a great fireworks. Where this is not only the New York Investment Bank which would have exploded, but the whole of high global finance. Infarction sometimes saves his victim, provided careful very quickly. It reveals the unexpected weaknesses of heart thought vaillant. Without the heart, arteries would have continued to butcher. The day where it would be impossible to save the patient, even with all the power of modern surgery. The collapse of the Lehman House is more healthy heart that original sin. In other words, it is the finance which is at issue than the public action.