https://barelyablog.com/what-the-torah-talmud-tell-us-about-moral-hazard-bailouts-2/ by ilana mercer Wed, 02 Apr 2025 19:29:09 +0000 hourly 1 https://barelyablog.com/what-the-torah-talmud-tell-us-about-moral-hazard-bailouts-2/comment-page-1/#comment-14407 Wed, 26 Nov 2008 17:49:41 +0000 http://barelyablog.com/?p=2341#comment-14407 Ms Mercer: You are venturing into very interesting territory here. (As a Christian, I naturally grant the Torah far greater weight in this matter than the Talmud.) You are correct, though: There is a great moral void in today’s business world (which is collapsing). Perhaps not coincidentally, there have been increasing calls of late for the West to adopt Islamic banking principles. I think we should return to our own moral base (the Bible), rather than to a source (Islam) that is totally foreign to our country’s heritage. P.S. There is a built-in balance in the Torah: See the “Year of Jubilee.” (There is no evidence, however, that the Year of Jubilee was ever observed.)

]]> https://barelyablog.com/what-the-torah-talmud-tell-us-about-moral-hazard-bailouts-2/comment-page-1/#comment-14406 Wed, 26 Nov 2008 16:07:37 +0000 http://barelyablog.com/?p=2341#comment-14406 I wonder whether Professor Aumann has ever discussed the other moral hazard of insurance, price gouging. Many people who are scrupulously honest in personal relationships will overcharge a large, impersonal institution, e.g., an insurance company or a government, without compunction. Insurance companies and governments do little about price gouging, except to increase premiums or taxes. Services commonly covered by insurance tend to be much more expensive than they otherwise would. Automotive body work and medical care are examples.

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