Friday, May 29, 2009

President Bush blames insufficient regulation for economic downturn


In a May 28, 2009 speech to The Economic Club of Southwestern Michigan at Lake Michigan College, President George W. Bush blamed the current economic recession on insufficient regulation of financial markets:
He talked about the economy, blaming "a lack of responsible regulation" in the lending industry for the recession and said that the Federal National Mortgage Association, known as Fannie Mae, and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp., or Freddie Mac, shouldn't have engaged in certain financial practices.

As mentioned in an earlier post, markets are amazing. Yet, markets are not perfect. Most economists believe it is appropriate to regulate markets to improve their social outcomes. President Bush seems to agree. Despite his claims to the contrary, he is not a supporter of free markets, which are by definition free of government regulation and interference.

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