The White House is Whistling Past America's Bank Graveyard
by Lawrence Kadish • March 17, 2023 at 3:00 am
Once I built a railroad, I made it run
Made it race against time
Once I built a railroad, now it's done
Brother, can you spare a dime?Once I built a tower up to the sun
Brick and rivet and lime
Once I built a tower, now it's done
Brother, can you spare a dime?
Written by E. Y. Harburg and Jay Gorney during the height of 1930s, the song became America's grim national anthem during The Great Depression.
As we watch the instability of our banking system unfold, those 90 year old lyrics may be more relevant than we wish to acknowledge.
Part of today's banking crisis was instigated by the Federal Reserve whose micro-management of interest rates created a balance sheet gap for some regional banks, institutions that have played a crucial role in powering our economy by working with small and middle size businesses.
