Obama on ‘Renewing the American Economy’

[keep_it_real]

<snip>

Let me be clear: the American economy does not stand still, and neither should the rules that govern it. The evolution of industries often warrants regulatory reform - to foster competition, lower prices, or replace outdated oversight structures. Old institutions cannot adequately oversee new practices. Old rules may not fit the roads where our economy is leading. There were good arguments for changing the rules of the road in the 1990s. Our economy was undergoing a fundamental shift, carried along by the swift currents of technological change and globalization. For the sake of our common prosperity, we needed to adapt to keep markets competitive and fair.

Unfortunately, instead of establishing a 21st century regulatory framework, we simply dismantled the old one - aided by a legal but corrupt bargain in which campaign money all too often shaped policy and watered down oversight. In doing so, we encouraged a winner take all, anything goes environment that helped foster devastating dislocations in our economy.

The whole speech here:
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2008/03/renewing_americas_economy.html

and here
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/27/us/politics/27text-obama.html?_r=2&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&pagewanted=all&adxnnlx=1206641411-cQoLCvbbvjABbzSjf0aUEg&oref=slogin