“Information Haves and Have-Nots” by L. Gordon Crovitz, published in the Wall Street Journal on September 22, 2008, is an opinion piece regarding the cause of the current financial crisis America is facing today. The main focus of the article pertains to Crovitz’s belief that the lack of analysts and information regarding securities has led to the downfall of major firms on Wall Street and in return has put billions of dollars of taxpayers’ money on the line for the bailout. Crovitz points to the argument that many people blame corporate greed for the crisis and in return more regulation is needed, but then goes on to support his argument with clear evidence that shows otherwise. In his words, “the continuing absence of information about the true value of underlying securities means no one knows when the market has hit a new normal.” Crovitz uses distinct numerical evidence to strengthen his claims and to persuade the reader that, if anything, the lack of information and analysts has affected the market, even if the reader does believe that greed is to blame.
Crovitz goes into depth about the problem by defining different aspects of the corporate failures that have led to the downfall. He asks the reader several questions to bring this awareness to them. “Why did so many smart people at so many top firms make dodgy investments? Why were there so many unknown unknowns, now at least becoming known unknowns?” The answers to these questions clearly backup his argument that analysts and professionals who identify risks at companies, or the lack of these people, is the prime cause. To further strengthen this, Crovitz identifies that “there are now about half as many Wall Street analysts as in 2000.” Now, more than ever, government and politicians are cal ...