In good financial times, few of us think about the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. It just sits there in Washington, D.C., quietly insuring our bank accounts and assuring Americans that our banks are sound.
Then there are the bad financial times. During the 2008 crisis, the FDIC and its then chair, Sheila Bair, took an uncharacteristic turn in the spotlight, taking over failed banks and sitting at the table as the government tried to craft a new regulatory approach to the nation’s financial industry.
Comments
Excellent article. Sheila Bair's idea about banning the revolving door between the financial industry and its regulators while making the career path for regulators more attractive is an excellent one. The same idea applies in other contexts, of course, and it is terrible policy to tax capital gains at a lower rate than income, for exactly the reasons Ms. Bair states. The demonization of government and outsourcing of all sorts of activities that are done better and cheaper and more efficiently has been very harmful to the economy and the country as a whole. I hope Ms. Bair's views gain traction.
Sheila Bair is close to being a soulmate of Elizabeth Warren, from her political thinking to her philosophy of government and her intellect. I think that when Warren is elected, you will see an Obama-like shift. She is not the flaming liberal her opponents paint her to be. And she certainly is not the devious person Karl Rove makes her to be. Instead, she is the scholar and intellectual mechanic that will help us all get on sounder financial footing. I have no doubt that she will continue to hammer Democrat policy-makers like Geithner as she has done in the past. She has the financial background, the compassionate mind, the sharpened intellect and the will to make good things happen. I was happy to agree with Bair: BAIR: Well, that was one of the reasons I went out and campaigned for Elizabeth [Warren]. I’m kind of a deficit hawk, so I agree with progressives on the financial reform issues and on other things I don’t....But at the end of the day, I have 100 percent confidence in her that she’s going to do what’s right. She’s not going to be influenced. And I think there are others. Susan Collins, to pick a home-state senator: One of the most important points in Dodd-Frank was the Collins amendment to improve bank capital requirements. And that was something that, ironically, [Treasury] Secretary [Timothy] Geithner had resisted....So there are people out there; we need more of them." DON'T FORGET TO VOTE ON TUESDAY, 6 NOV 12