Making Sense of the Credit Crisis

Daniel Gross hosts a fascinating discussion of our current economic crisis. In it a group of journalists discuss what might have been done to avoid it and how to address the behavior of the bankers. Was it criminal? If so, who was criminal? Reading through it, I was intrigued that the idea of actually paying back some of the outlandish sums that bankers were paid out over the last few years only came up at the very end. Personally, I think making someone give money back --and making those payments public -- would an extremely effective way to deter white collar misbehavior and sloppy, greedy action. I also think that those who are criminal should get much more than community service, they should be tried in a court of law. In this I agree with my friend Jesse Eisinger who states the case quite strongly and well. Since I have a very long history of disagreeing loudly and publicly with Jesse, this is both a full disclosure moment and one of personal glee that I don't feel compelled to say anything to Jesse other than, "Damn Straight!"