Financial Crisis Was Avoidable, Inquiry Finds

New York Times by Sewell Chan | Jan. 26, 2011 (News Analysis)

The 2008 financial crisis was an “avoidable” disaster caused by widespread failures in government regulation, corporate mismanagement and heedless risk-taking by Wall Street, according to the conclusions of a federal inquiry. Full Story »

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4.1

by Bob Herrschaft - Jan. 31, 2011

.a fairly thorough examination of the Angelides commission"s report on the causes of the financial crisis, putting the blame where it belongs.It could have gone into more detail on the rating agencies' role in the crisis, but Angelides' quote callling them a "cog in the wheel" sums it up nicely.

Humpty Dumpty was pushed!

The report’s implications may be felt more in the political realm than in public policy More »

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3.9

by Dwight Rousu - Jan. 31, 2011

The report sounds solid. The reporting on the report appears to capture the essence of the debacle. If there is a criticism, the causes of the crisis is soft-pedaled. The political parties individually were not the prime culprits, the fault is in a system where big money buys shills to construct legislation to feed the greed of the American "up-yours" class.

Corporate power needs to be limited.

The financial industry spent $2.7 billion on lobbying from 1999 to 2008, while individuals and committees affiliated with it made more than $1 billion in campaign ... More »

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3.9

by Don Bertschman - Jan. 31, 2011

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4.0

by Mike Carlson - Jan. 28, 2011

A good outline of the actors and (in)actions that led to the Great Recession. We're still far from being out of the woods. $23 trilion paper mache mask placed over banks' fetid loan portfolios may yet crack & expose us to a double dip recession.

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4.0

by Jon Mitchell - Jan. 26, 2011

Jon posted this story.

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4.5

by Kenneth L Salzman, PhD - Jan. 30, 2011

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Kenneth L Salzman, PhD – Jan. 26, 2011 - 02:29 PM

The story acknowledges that this sounds like old news, but goes on to state that the story here is the release of the findings of the commission delegated to get to the bottom of what happened. Not a natural disaster, not unavoidable, and also, according to the commission report, not the fault of Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae or a general effort to get more people into their own homes.

Perhaps distressing is that the report has supporters and dissenters on the commission, and that the divide is along party lines. Normally, I would question the accuracy of the report based on that, but given the rest of what I have learned and read I am inclined to think that the commission’s report got it right. De-regulation and allowing the “free market” to run free turns out not to be a good idea, as people tend to do things that are either corrupt or stupid or both.

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5.0

by Benjamin Slade - Feb. 1, 2011

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4.0

by Thomas John Andros - Feb. 1, 2011

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4.1

Good

from 8 reviews (58% confidence)

Quality

4.1

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4.5

Fairness

4.5

Information

4.5

Insight

4.0

Sourcing

4.0

Style

4.0

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4.0

Balance

3.0

Context

4.0

Depth

3.6

Enterprise

3.6

Expertise

4.5

Originality

3.5

Relevance

4.8

Transparency

4.0

Responsibility

4.0

Popularity

4.0

Recommendation

4.4

Credibility

3.9

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