“Placing our faith in economic oracles”
“One of the sadder categories in the history of human misfortunes is the list of those things that are obvious, but wrong. By definition, if something is obvious, most people agree with it, and thus, it is likely to win the day – but lose the verdict of history. The Earth is flat – obviously. The sun rotates around the Earth – obviously. What we need is a financial systemic-risk regulator who can spot an impending systemic financial risk – and stop it. Obviously?
Unfortunately, save for a few Republican senators and outside experts, it is obvious to most of official Washington that, as Sen. Christopher J. Dodd’s Banking Committee gets ready to mark up the financial regulation bill, only the form that a financial systemic-risk regulator should take is seriously in dispute.” Read more.
