By MARK A. CALABRIA,New York Post
Obama is not addressing the real problem
THE Obama administration yesterday presented a misguided,ill-informed remake of our financial regulatory system that will make crises more likely and more costly. Our financial system,particularly our mortgage system,is broken —but the Obama plan ignores the real flaws to focus on more convenient targets.
Instead of putting an end to bank bailouts,the plan makes bailouts a permanent feature of our regulatory landscape. In fact,it extends the possibility of taxpayer-funded bailouts to any company choosing to become a financial-holding company. This will likely include every large insurer,as well as major consumer-finance companies like GMAC.
Of course,the administration tells us that bailouts won’t be needed —because the same regulators who missed the signs of the current crisis will get added powers to prevent the next one.
We’re supposed to believe that,if only the Federal Reserve had the same oversight powers over AIG as it now has over Citibank and Bank of America,that the bailout of AIG would have been avoided. Just think:If only AIG had been managed and regulated as well as Citibank —because Citi is in such great shape now.