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“Widespread failures in financial regulation” and “systemic breaches in accountability and ethics at all levels” are among the causes of the economic collapse, says the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission. The Commission released its final report yesterday after beginning work in May 2009. It is the fruit of a thorough investigation that included reviewing millions of pages of documents, holding 19 days of public hearings, and conducting over 700 interviews. About its findings, Commission Chairman Phil Angelides, said in part, “Despite the expressed view of many on Wall Street and in Washington that the crisis could not have been foreseen or avoided, there were warning signs.” However not every commissioner agreed with this assessment. The bi-partisan Commission split along partisan lines, with only the 6 members appointed by Democrats endorsing the final report. The final 4 members wrote dissenting conclusions. One of the four blamed the 2008 crash on a catastrophic housing bubble caused by government intervention in the housing market through Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The remaining three dissenting commissioners blamed many factors. In a summary in Thursday’s Wall Street Journal, they wrote that the majority report was a “simple narrative” with “popular appeal”, but called it “incomplete and misleading.” They concluded their article by stating that while they agreed with their colleagues on many points, “It is dangerous to conclude that the crisis would have been avoided if only we had regulated everything more, had fewer housing subsidies, and had more responsible bankers.” There is concern that the bipartisan disagreement has undermined the Commission’s findings.

GUEST: Mary Bottari, Editor of BanksterUSA.org

Read the entire report and/or order a copy at www.fcic.gov.