Matthew Richardson and Nouriel Roubini have written an OP ED to the Daily News in support of Tim Geithner's Toxic Asset Plan. Here is the complete OP ED.
But they have some specific suggestions about how the plan is implemented in order to improve our chances for success.
They acknowledge that the plan relies heavily on public money and limits the private investor's exposure:
The government bears the risk if and when the investors take a bath on the taxpayer-provided loans. If the economy gets worse, it could get very ugly, very quickly.
But they have an interesting take on how this makes the plan better than previous plans:
The government needs help from private investors so it doesn't get hoodwinked by the banks.
So, essentially, we need the banks involved because they know where all the bodies are buried.
The have specific suggestions on how to improve the plan:
The administration should be transparent in making clear that there is still a wealth transfer taking place here - from taxpayers to investors and banks.
TRANSPARANCY
And they have some concerns about the means used to fund the plan:
Also, while this plan is designed by the Treasury, many of the big guarantees are being made by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and the Fed. Why not use only Treasury funds? Well, then the administration would have to deal with Congress. While the populist hysteria of last week suggests this end run might make sense, there is something a little worrying about circumventing the legislative process on such a huge investment.
DON'T USE FDIC FUNDS
Be sure to read the whole OP ED. In addition to the above two points, they suggest forcing the banks to participate and be prepared to do even more if this plan does not work.