New York Times Financial Columnist Explains Why Runs are Impossible

Says Steven Weisman in today’s NYT: “The fear of some economists is that, as the dollar declines, there could be a panic sell-off. But most experts doubt such a panic would occur, because it would be in nobody’s interest, least of all investors who are holding dollar-based investments.” Someone should tell him that it is never in the interest of investors or depositors for there to be a run on a currency or a bank. But it is in their individual interest to get out ahead of everyone else. This is not to say that there will be a run on the dollar, but you might want to find a better reason than the notion that bad things cannot happen in capitalism because capitalists don’t want them to happen.