Straight Talk
By Adam
This week’s Straight Talk contributor is Catherine Austin Fitts: investment advisor and entrepreneur. She is the founder of Solari, where she offers subscribers guidance for navigating the risks of the global financial system and the political economy. (FYI: Chris will be the guest on her weekly podcast, The Solari Report, on Feb 3). Her perspective on Wall Street and Capitol Hill are shaped by her past roles as Assistant Secretary of Housing under George H. W. Bush, and before that, as Managing Director and board member for the investment bank Dillon, Read & Co.
1. Despite (or perhaps because of) your time as Assistant Secretary of Housing under Bush Sr., you are extremely critical of the government’s financial stewardship. What, if anything, changes with administrations and how much is institutionally baked into the cake?
The federal financial model is institutional, and its ultimate governance is outside of the government.
The choice of candidates impacts the quality of the political appointees, which factions get the large portion of the benefits of controlling the flow of contracts and pork, numerous incremental policies, as well as the tone of the Administration.