Quotes of the day

I analogize [the private equity buyout bubble] to sex. You realize there were certain things you shouldn’t do, but the urge is there and you can’t resist.--David Rubenstein

That's not funny, David. Your limited partners paid you billions of dollars precisely because you claimed to be able to resist following your penis rather than your brain--Felix Salmon

You can't have it both ways. Either you want credit card companies and mortgage originators to do everything they can to keep credit risks out of their system--which means identifying people whose shopping patterns indicate financial trouble--or you want them to extend too much credit. The sad fact is that becoming a more responsible lender is largely synonymous with discriminating against the poor.--Megan McArdle

Protectionism is the crack cocaine of economics. It may provide a high. It's addictive and it leads to economic death.--Richard Fisher

Larry Summers famously said that the criteria for stimulus is fiscal policy that is timely, targeted, and temporary. The spending in this bill is partisan, pandering, and permanent.--Arnold Kling

The one thing I can say is that [those who] get angry at anyone who questions them, and/or pick on side points, does not make me more confident in their judgement. It doesn't seem to me like the irritation of confidence. It seems like the anger of someone with something to hide.--Megan McArdle