Stock Buybacks and the Wisdom of Presidents

Steven Pearlstein of the Washington Post published an article that draws a parallel between the mortgage bubble of the Bush years and the current corporate stock buyback bubble, which to be fair began under Obama but continues under Trump. Pearlstein omits the biggest bubble of all:  the Obama bailout that sustained years of malinvestment in derivatives and real estate.  Also to be fair, the Obama bailout began under Bush but was ramped up.  At one point economists at the Jerome Levy Center at Bard College identified $29 trillion in subsidies to Wall Street; hence, Obama oversaw the largest subsidization of any industry in the history of the world.

Here is the wisdom of presidents, reflecting the democratic, Progressive genius of the American people:

Bush:  Have the Fed print lots of money and sell houses to people who can't figure out how to find a job. 

Obama: Have the Fed print lots of money and give it to Wall Street investors who can't figure out how to invest. 

Trump: Have the Fed print lots of money and give it to corporate executives who can't figure out how to innovate.