Don't ask if bailout worked, ask why banks are still calling the shots
The “big question” over at The Hill today was whether a “year after the financial crisis started, have the bailouts proved to be worth it?” If you’re not familiar with the big question, it’s a running feature where politicians, policy wonks and activists weigh in on the big issue of the day. Public Citizen President Robert Weissman offered:
The bailout should not be separated from the debate over financial regulatory reform. A reckless financial industry self-immolated and devastated the national economy. The industry, along with the rest of us, was saved from a much worse catastrophe than we experienced only through unprecedented government intervention in the economy. Now that same reckless industry leverages its political power to contest even the modest reform measures being considered in Congress. One of the great political failures surrounding the bailout is that, rather than being forced to express shame and apologize, these institutions continue to dominate the policymaking debate.