Krugman: Thank You, Lloyd Blankfein. FinReg a "qualified win".

[jefferson_dem]

Thank You, Lloyd Blankfein

FinReg: what do I think? I think Ed Andrews has it right: not all it should have been, but better than seemed likely not long ago, thanks to a changed climate. Wall Street in general, and Goldman in particular, provided scandals at just the right time. Thank you, Lloyd Blankfein.

What’s good? Resolution authority, which was sorely lacking last year; consumer protection; derivatives traded through clearinghouses; ratings reform, thanks to Al Franken; tighter capital standards for big players, although with too much discretion to regulators.

What’s missing? Hard leverage limits; size caps; not much in the way of restoring Glass-Steagall. If you think that too big to fail is the core problem, it’s disappointing; if you think that shadow banking is the core, as I do, not too bad.

Now, the truth is that we won’t know how good a reform this is until the next crisis (which is very different from health care, where there will be ample opportunities to learn from experience.) And the new system clearly won’t be robust to really bad leadership: once President Palin appoints Ron Paul as Treasury Secretary, all bets are off.

But I still think this counts as a qualified win.

http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/05/21/thank-you-lloyd-blankfein/

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

1. Premature since the two bills haven't been conferenced yet and we

don't know what exactly will make it into the final bill.

[flpoljunkie]

2. Good. Reform needs stronger House CFPA. Let's try to get it in conference.

Elizabeth Warren needs to speak out.

[LongTomH]

3. "once President Palin appoints Ron Paul as Treasury Secretary, all bets are off."

That's going to give me nightmares!!!!!!:scared: :scared: :scared: :scared: :scared: :scared: :scared: :scared: :scared: :scared:

[NJmaverick]

4. K & R!

[WeDidIt]

5. All things in increments

That's how our system was designed and we're making progress, which is the progressive way.

[Sebastian Doyle]

6. Putting financial regulation in the hands of the "Federal" Reserve

is like putting the regulation of agriculture in the hands of MonSatan.

Oh, wait....... :evilfrown:


Just reinstate the regulations that actually worked. Break up the big banks, and abolish - not enable - the private banking cabal called the "Federal" Reserve.

[NJmaverick]

9. Wow who to listen to, you or Krugman

[Sebastian Doyle]

10. Krugman thought corporate insurance mandates were a "good idea" too

He was wrong about that, and wrong about this.

[NJmaverick]

11. I tend to think the odds are much greater that you are the one that's wrong

[Sebastian Doyle]

14. Of course you do

And you probably still think offshore drilling is a "good idea" too.

[NJmaverick]

15. What does that have to do with the fact that you don't know nearly as much

about the economy than a Nobel Prize winning economist?

[depakid]

13. Considering the track record- that's like putting oil well permiting in the hands of the MMS

[BeyondGeography]

7. Like Wellpoint with HCR; corporate assholes are the political gift that keeps on giving

Now if we just have the time to fix their messes...

[DCBob]

8. If Krugman thinks its a "qualified win".. then thats good enough for me..

I trust his judgment more than the DU "financial geniuses" who have been bashing the bill non-stop since it passed.

[depakid]

12. It's a better than nothing situation- but doesn't address major problems

Too big to fail (backed by taxpayer money) will still be playing games with derivatives that will cause another crash.