I am convinced that if the Fed or the government, despite all evidence to the contrary, actually did have some ability to predict or even make good guesses at what markets are likely to do, then it would have little need of regulation. If the Fed chairman or Treasury secretary would have spoken up a few years ago and stated that it is likely the housing market is overvalued, or that a number of investment banks and insurers (and Fannie and Freddie) are so undercapitalized that they are unlikely to survive a steep market downturn....then investors and speculators would probably pulled their money out sooner, resulting in a less severe downturn since things would not have had as much time to inflate to such instability.
Alas, several years ago Bernanke and Paulson were saying that everything was okay, that we weren't in a bubble, all problems were contained, etc. Tough to be saved by non-omniscient gods. Have faith in God almighty instead! _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l