On Tue, 16 Sep 2008 11:38:08 -0400, "Eisboch" wrote:

With all the attention given to the financial meltdown in the media, I see a
lot of finger pointing and blame being directed at various people for the
lack of government regulation. Even McCain, this morning, acknowledged
that some level of regulation is required.

Here's what I don't get:

Congress has oversight responsibilities covering a broad range of areas.
Congress is also the legislative branch of the government, responsible for
drafting, proposing and instituting laws and/or changes as required. The
executive branch then enforces the approved laws.

Why don't we see any members of Congress responding to this financial crisis
with any form of proposed legislation?
I see them casting blame for the situation on either current or past
presidents, but I haven't heard of any of them .... Republican or Democrat
actually doing their job and taking action as required in their job/office
responsibilities.

EIsboch


I think the truth is that very few in congress, if any, are
financially astute enough to propose meaningful legislation. It
really shouldn't come from congress anyway but rather from existing
regulatory agencies: The SEC, Controller of the Currency, Federal
Reserve, FASB, FDIC, etc. There was a massive breakdown at all levels
regarding the amount of leveraged, high-risk debt that was being
accumulated by the financial services industry. The bond rating
agencies share more than a little bit of the blame as well. They are
paid to assess risk and evaluate worst case scenarios, and none of
that seems to have been done very well except possibly by Warren
Buffet.