Quotes of the day

... it was so galling last month when the Democratic Congress passed a budget with such big deficits that it makes the United States literally ineligible to join France in the European Union.--Lamar Alexander

In the name of containing "systemic risk," our regulators spread it. In order to keep Mr. Lewis quiet, they all but ordered him to deceive his own shareholders. And in the name of restoring financial confidence, they have so mistreated Bank of America that bank executives everywhere have concluded that neither Treasury nor the Federal Reserve can be trusted.--WSJ Editorial Board

The problem originated with mortgages, but it’s now spread well beyond. Say you initially got sick from something but then the illness is throughout your whole body. The infection has spread throughout your whole body! You can’t just go back and fix the hole in your arm.--Peter Orszag

They’re like Sotheby’s and Christie’s, [Moody's and Standard & Poor's]. I’m not sure that “criminal” isn’t too strong a word for the way in which they offer no real alternative to each other, instead chosing to ape whatever the other one does.--Felix Salmon

It's long been obvious that the stress tests are like those kindergarten field days where everyone gets a prize for participating.--Megan McArdle

It is true that the belief in both tighter bank regulation and a larger welfare state cluster on the left, but if social democracy is some sort of preventative cure-all, how come the US economy is outperforming places like Denmark, Sweden, and Germany, not to mention the OECD as a whole? Why, if the problem is "American style capitalism", are the biggest GDP declines found elsewhere?--Megan McArdle

After 9/11, we blamed the CIA for not knowing. Now we blame the CIA for finding out.--Don Surber

As a father, I never imagined that the argumentative, young boy who grew up in my house, eating my food and using my name would be my future employer. But that's what happened.--William Gates, Sr.

... the Bible is actually a much livelier, more entertaining, more approachable read than the experts tell us it is.--David Plotz

Youkilis's walk total went from 91 to 77 to 62 from 2006-2008, but his on-base percentage has increased. The simple explanation is that Youkilis’s batting average has gone up, which is to say that his bat has become as great a weapon as his keen eye.--Tony Massarotti