'Financial Crisis Was Avoidable, Inquiry Finds'

[midcan5]

By Sewell Chan

"“The greatest tragedy would be to accept the refrain that no one could have seen this coming and thus nothing could have been done,” the panel wrote in the report’s conclusions, which were read by The New York Times. “If we accept this notion, it will happen again.”"

"The report does knock down — at least partly — several early theories for the financial crisis. It says the low interest rates brought about by the Fed after the 2001 recession; Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the mortgage finance giants; and the “aggressive homeownership goals” set by the government as part of a “philosophy of opportunity” were not major culprits.

On the other hand, the report is harsh on regulators. It finds that the Securities and Exchange Commission failed to require big banks to hold more capital to cushion potential losses and halt risky practices, and that the Fed “neglected its mission.”"

www.nytimes.com/2011/01/26/business/economy/26inquiry.html?

www.nytimes.com/2011/01/28/business/economy/28inquiry.html?_r=1&ref=sewellchan

But 'Republican Panelists Dissent on Cause of Crisis' - of course they would, they work for Wall street not Main street.

dealbook.nytimes.com/2010/12/15/g-o-p-panelists-dissent-on-cause-of-crisis/?ref=sewellchan

[midcan5]

'A Fix For Today, and Tomorrow' Robert Pollin

'This article is part of Back To Full Employment, a forum on the possibilities for full employment in today’s economy.'

"Creating an economy with an abundance of decent employment opportunities—a “full-employment” economy, as I have used the term—is a matter of basic ethics. Without full employment, the fundamental notion of equal rights for everyone—the core idea emanating from the Enlightenment and elaborated upon in both the liberal and socialist traditions—faces insurmountable obstacles in practical implementation.

Figuring out how to create and sustain a full-employment economy inevitably requires serious engagement with, among other things, technical issues in economic theory and policy, high-brow political theory, and ground-level political fighting. Ruy Teixeira’s excellent comment provides a clear sense of the combustible brew of political challenges facing us, especially now, with employment conditions worse than at any time in the past 70 years. It is therefore no surprise that the eight respondents have delivered a wide array of arguments. I will focus on five of the major themes they raise." www.bostonreview.net/BR36.1/pollinreply.php