The Financial Crisis—Assessing Who's to Blame and SEC's Chris Cox's Role

It looks to me like the only government official who kept calm, steadfastly ensuring that the capital markets continued to function was Chris Cox. The rest of the government from the Treasury Department to the Congress lurched from once crisis fix to another with each "fix" causing unintended consequences. Their very behavior and statements created fear and panic, led to further moral hazard and has resulted in taxpayers being on the on the hook for untold trillions. Now virtually every financial institution in the United States and the world will be managed by the same system that caused the economic meltdown -- the folks who regulated and steered Fannie and Freddie -- government officials who have a political agenda and believe that it is reasonable for taxpayers to subsidize that agenda. It is no wonder the American people have lost confidence in the economy.

Bob Burtt of MT 10:31AM March 12, 2009