Blame Washington More Than Wall Street for the Financial Crisis
Topics: Economics, U.S.
Public Release Date: March 17, 2009
The 2008 financial crisis threw the U.S. economy into recession, devastated its housing and stock markets, and lost 5.5 million American jobs. While Wall Street created destabilizing structured securities and investment banking firms over-leveraged their often illiquid assets, the Fed supplied far too much credit and Washington failed to provide the regulation and oversight that would have prevented crisis. Who’s to blame?
ARGUING YES:
Niall Ferguson: Laurence A. Tisch Professor of History at Harvard University, Senior research fellow of Jesus College at Oxford University, Senior fellow of the Hoover Institution at Stanford University
John Steele Gordon: Lifelong Author and Commentator
Nouriel Roubini: Professor of Economics and International Business at Stern School of Business, New York University.
ARGUING NO:
Alex Berenson: Investigative Reporter for the New York Times
Jim Chanos: Founder and Managing Partner of Kynikos Associates
Nell Minow: Editor and Co-Founder of The Corporate Library
MODERATOR-IN-CHIEF:
John Donvan: Emmy award-winning journalist