Lessons Not Learned: Wall Street and the Crisis Next Time
Predictions about when the economy will actually start to recover keep slipping — first it was the first half of this year, then it was the second half. Then it was early 2010, and now it’s mid-2010. Everyone agrees we’ll get there eventually, but it’ll take a while. What few people are willing to guess at is whether we’ll be able to prevent another financial crisis like this from happening again? So far the Obama Administration and Congress have promised sweeping overhaul of the regulations governing Wall Street, the financial industry, and consumer financial services. For a time, even the biggest Wall Street bankers seemed chastened. But with the recent revival in bank fortunes — profits up 35 percent or more, repayment of TARP money and the renewed promise of six figure bonuses — it seems only fair to ask whether what we have here is a crisis wasted? Has the federal government missed an opportunity to re-align the interest of the financial industry with the rest of the economy?
Moderator: Kai Ryssdal, Host of Marketplace
Preceding the seminar on October 24, a reception was held in Los Angeles on October 23.
