Long time readers will know that I am a fan of Bill Moyers, but I humbly disagree with the thesis of this interview with William Black.
I agree that government regulations on Wall Street have been thoroughly, and blatantly scuttled. (Surprise, surprise.) In my humble opinion however, this observation misses the point.
As usual, they speak honestly, but from a certain set of assumption. William Black seems to take for granted that government needs to subsidize bad home loans. Think back to how Presidents Clinton and later Bush W. both bragged about how a record number of American’s “owned” a home.
If government insists on subsidizing bad loans, bailing out incompetent banks, etc., regulation is need. I agree, but that’s a big IF.
In a free market world where banks simply faced the consequences of irresponsibility, there would be self-regulation and investor-led-regulation more stringent than anything government bureaucrats would ever come up with. Irresponsible companies would go bankrupt.
Liberty works, but we need to give it a chance.