Main Street Should Care About Wall Street

This column was written by Michael Kao, CEO and portfolio manager of Akanthos Capital Management, a hedge fund specializing in convertible, capital structure and event-driven arbitrage strategies.

As I watch the surreal economic tableau unfolding, I recognize more and more that one of the key impediments to efforts to stabilize our economy and markets is that many people don't appreciate the umbilical cord that exists between the Wall Street economy and the "real" Main Street economy.

While Treasury Secretary Paulson and Fed Chairman Bernanke have repeatedly sought to find the right salve for the economy, they have thus far diluted their own efforts by trying to punishing the "bad guys" on Wall Street. The farcical showdown in Congress regarding the passage of the TARP again revolved mainly around the need for immediate action versus the need to assuage the moral hazard hawks.

While there is no doubt that there were "bad apples" on Wall Street who exacerbated the current crisis and that the moral hazard issues ought to be resolved over time, the fact remains that while the house is burning down, there really isn't time to discuss what kind of fire hose to use. People need to understand that, like it or not, our real economy depends on the viability of the financial system. Availability of credit and proper functioning of capital markets are crucial lubricants to the engine that is our economy.

One of my biggest frustrations in watching the debate in Congress over TARP was that too much of the discussion revolved around "credit freeze-ups" and "elevated LIBOR" and other arcane-sounding "Wall Street" lingo that the layperson on Main Street might not understand. No wonder that the politicians had overwhelming pressure by their constituents to vote "Nay." That the press kept labeling it a "$700 billion bailout bill" also further extended the mislabeling.