By Richard Cohen
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Excerpt:
“The complicated, exotic and downright erotic financial instruments cooked up at the investment houses were, in fact, little understood not only by the buyers but also by the sellers.”
Another excerpt:
“Financial markets have moved well beyond the trading of things that could be seen or measured or weighed. On Wall Street, older men employed the lingo of younger men to pretend they knew what was happening — but they didn’t. Now, Congress is being asked to do something similar. That won’t do. Bear down. Ask questions. Don’t be afraid to regulate. Act as if you’re the government, for crying out loud. Because if you don’t do this right, you soon won’t be. ”