Meredith Whitney

摘要

"You can't make money if you owe money." That's the advice banking analyst Meredith Whitney got from her grandfather, to whom she dedicates her new book, Fate of the States (Portfolio, 2013). "Leverage is something I've never been very comfortable with." Whitney, 43, is still pounding the table about the financial crises facing states like California, Illinois and New Jersey. They are all struggling under the weight of bloated municipal governments with gigantic pension liabilities. She says many states have staved off bond defaults only by cutting services in areas like education, health care and infrastructure, and-of course-by raising taxes. But as citizens assess their priorities and governments examine their finances, Whitney-who defines money as "freedom"-expects more defaults to occur. "I don't feel that a bond obligation is any more morally valuable than a kid's right to education or someone's right to have a call answered if their house is on fire."