Page 611 - WhyAsInY

“resolvinG tHe Crisis; restorinG tHe ConfiDenCe”
the bottom of the pad flush with the edge of the highly polished table. And then the pièce de résistance : centered on each pad, with its never- before-used eraser kissing the white binding of the legal pad (labeled “United States Army”), was a fresh No. 2 pencil, label edge facing to the ceiling, which had been sharpened to the finest point that I’d ever seen. I couldn’t stand it, and upon seeing it, I found myself impulsively mak- ing my stand for disorder by pushing three or four of the pencils on our side of the table off their hitherto perpendicular axes.
The officers listened attentively to our presentation and thanked us when the conference ended with no real result. But it was fun for me.
Finally, I was also put in charge of the “JDC” program, pursuant to which real estate judgments, deficiencies (the amounts by which the size of the mortgage debt exceeded the proceeds of that mortgage), and claims related to mortgages in default were sold to qualified collection groups for 1 percent of book value and 50 percent of the returns. That program continues at today’s FDIC.
We will now move to something that was also quite successful but, in the end, not as much fun.
Flying SWATs
So, class, what is the relationship between my job, “triangulation,” and politics? That will be the subject of this morning’s lecture. Pay close attention, for, if you ever wish to serve your country in a meaningful fashion, you might benefit from what follows.
When I first arrived at the RTC, I was given exactly no guidance in governmental practices. That was just fine with me; the RTC was a new agency, and hence, at least at first, it appeared to be comparatively free from the rules and regulations that straitjacketed so much of the govern- ment’s activities. (And as you might have gleaned, I’ve never been particularly big on having to follow rules, especially stupid ones.)
There were, however, two important exceptions. I was told one thing that stuck with me, and I was handed one thing that didn’t. What
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