Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Re: Dionne on Leuchtenburg

VDH had a similar thought yesterday (or over the weekend):

2) The Meltdown Commission. We had a 9/11 Commission; we formed the Baker-Hamilton Commission on Iraq (never mind the utility of the conclusions). So let us try a bipartisan investigatory commission on the autumn financial meltdown. Thus far the mainstream media narrative is a reductive “Bush did it.” But let us examine past bundling of subprime mortgages, and derivatives, and who introduced more regulation of banks, who opposed it; who tried to restrain Freddie and Fannie, who fought that tooth and nail, what the SEC did and did not do—and why. Let us collate all the campaign contributions from the failed banks, Madoff, the entire open sewer of politics and high finance, and then let those of the commission, both Democrat and Republican, issue a white paper on when, why, and how it all went down.

5 comments:

Stephanie said...

Yep -- love that. Though I have to say I'm a little skeptical that it was all a pander to campaign contributions; strikes me as more likely that Congress people are derelict in their duties because the issues are too complex for them and their staffs to fully understand. That Commodities Futures Modernization Act strikes me as the true key to the whole fiasco and that had mostly Republican sponsors, but at least one Dem co-sponsor in both chambers, and, because it was tacked onto the Omnibus spending bill, probably got no notice from anyone else. As I've said before, the whole Fannie/Freddie thing is tiny -- I mean ALL of the forfeited mortgages amount to a little hill of beans -- in comparison to the mountain of derivative losses.

Stephanie said...

NYT editorial today is on the same page: investigate.

And I was going to publish the names of all the Congress people who voted for the CFMA, but since it was tacked onto the omnibus spending bill, it didn't seem particularly meaningful. Greenspan, by the way, lobbied in favor of CFMA.

Stephanie said...

Was looking for a book on the CFMA, and I found one: used paperback selling for $198: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Commodity-Futures-Modernization-Act/Montgomery/e/9780808006008/?itm=2

Sheesh.

Scooter said...

Not many books worth more that $1.00 per page.

Scooter said...

I agree about the % the FM/FM thing. He's overreacting there as to the effect on the economy as best I can tell. I was a dirt lawyer in the late 80s and it was much then. VDH has been a bit morose lately so I've been hesitant to link to him.