The Great Depression was not the fault of the government. In fact, government inaction during the early years of the Depression is understood to have exacerbated the downturn.
Let’s be crystal clear here, the ‘Government needs to get out of the way’ crowd is principally responsible for the laissez-faire deregulatory environment that fostered the current mess.
Maybe we should have had EVEN LESS government regulation in the years leading up to the current real estate, mortgage and financial meltdown???
Loose accounting and fraud, financial industry deregulation, reductions in reserve requirements, hedge funds and credit swaps, mortgage fraud, liar loans and fake appraisals? Right…
Government is not the problem.
Incompetent government is the problem.
When left to its own devices, markets malfunction. Government plays an ESSENTIAL role in regulating and ensuring a functional marketplace. It is a common good. We should recognize it as such.
