Translation Engine

From Bloomberg: Paulson Calls for Process to Liquidate Failing Firms.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson called for regulatory changes that would allow financial firms to fail without threatening broader market stability.

``Two concerns underpin expectations of regulatory intervention to prevent a failure,'' Paulson said. ``They are that an institution may be too interconnected to fail or too big to fail. We must take steps to reduce the perception that this is so -- and that requires that we reduce the likelihood that it is so.''

We must "reduce the perception that an institution may be too big to fail".

Washington insiders (and others generally well-versed in the political process) will have no trouble interpreting this statement but for the general benefit, let me provide a translation:

"Currently, a large bank, and plenty of small banks are in too much deep doo-doo for us to bail out.