President Obama is outlining his “scaled back” plan to reshape the financial system Wednesday, said Declan McCullagh in CBS News Econwatch. Thanks to “assiduously” leaked details, we know that he wants the Federal Reserve to have more power, the Office of Thrift Supervision to disappear, and a new Consumer Finance Protection Agency to sprout up among the poorly weeded “crop of regulatory agencies” in Washington.
If, like me, you were hoping that Obama would downsize and rationalize the “alphabet soup of regulators,” said Felix Salmon in Reuters, this plan is “a bust.” There are some good ideas tucked in the proposed overhaul, but the gist of it is that there’s nothing wrong with our financial oversight that can’t be fixed by another layer of bureaucracy.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Good, said Tony Blankley in RealClearPolitics. If the financial system is the brain of the economy, “heavy regulation is its lobotomy.” In trying to design a system to fight the last war—in which “‘greedy’ and impetus-excessive financial risk takers” were the enemy—Obama risks worsening the next one, where the main problem will be stagnant lending in an overly risk-averse market.
-
Political cartoons for February 19Cartoons Thursday’s political cartoons include a suspicious package, a piece of the cake, and more
-
The Gallivant: style and charm steps from Camber SandsThe Week Recommends Nestled behind the dunes, this luxury hotel is a great place to hunker down and get cosy
-
The President’s Cake: ‘sweet tragedy’ about a little girl on a baking mission in IraqThe Week Recommends Charming debut from Hasan Hadi is filled with ‘vivid characters’
