Meaningful Financial Reform

Paul A. Volcker, The Washington Post

It has been a long slog for the economy since the last and by far the most severe financial breakdown in my experience almost brought our economic system to its knees. Right now, in the wake of unprecedented trillions of dollars in budgetary and continuing Federal Reserve support, the U.S. economy is doing better than it has in nearly a decade. Unemployment is down. Credit is, for the most part, reasonably available to industry and home buyers. However, even as the United States continues its long climb back from the financial crisis, it is all too clear that the federal financial regulatory structure is simply inadequate to head off future crises. The structure that failed us in anticipating and responding to the emergency is largely still in place.