With collapse of Lehman Brothers, Bear Sterns, Fannie & Freddie, still want unregulated capitalism?

[yurbud]

I posted this at http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080916113723AA0D8qL">Yahoo answers. I'll be curious to see the righties response.

Conservatives demand that corporations and financial institutions have as little oversight and government regulation as possible, but when their reckless and fraudulent actions get millions of Americans foreclosed out of their homes or the institution collapses because investors see through their scams, taxpayers end up bailing them out to the tune of tens of billions of dollars.

When we did welfare reform back in the 90's, we required something in return for financial help for the poor: work.

When we have to bail out some brokerage, bank, or whole category of institutions like the S & L crisis in the 80s, we the people should have a say in how they do business and oversight through our elected representatives.

The same is true when an institution or category of industry has the ability to do massive harm to our people and economy through incompetence or malice as the power companies did here in California when they turned off our lights to blackmail the state for $10 billion.

We don't put kids in charge of their own education, criminals in charge of policing or let sports teams play without referees.

Why should we trust corporations and financial institutions to police themselves, particularly since the last few decades, they have established a pretty good track record of stealing employee pensions, bankrupting S &L's by giving loans to friends that they knew they wouldn't payback (but would give a nice kickback) and leave taxpayers holding the bag, or designing mortgage and credit card contracts that trap consumers in debt they can't repay or give the mortgage company the couple of years of payments you made AND your house.

Capitalism works very well at making a profit. The problem is there are more ways to make a profit than delivering a superior product at the lowest price. They can also make it through fraud, monopoly, and buying government favors and subsidies.

Isn't it time we make these guys at least as subject to the law as we are as individuals?

Shouldn't our government should be keeping much closer track of what they do and not by regulators chosen by the industry as has been the case in the Bush years?

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080916113723AA0D8qL">FULL TEXT

[Mesteryo]

1. not sure what regulations would stop this..

It's a failure of business policy on one hand and a bad decision by the Fed to keep interest rates really low no matter what. We need a better money policy more than a new regulation. The govt. would need to run the business to force them to run their business right.

[yurbud]

2. you said it, not me.

[Naturyl]

3. Unregulated Capitalism = Economic Darwinism

"Lord of the Flies" isn't my idea of a civilized economy, thanks.