- Listen to the entire program<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/p>\n
![\"Angelides\"](\"http:\/\/d.yimg.com\/a\/p\/ap\/20110127\/capt.c9f246aa05404f30b1c2f086e3e9a3f8-c9f246aa05404f30b1c2f086e3e9a3f8-0.jpg?x=243&y=345&q=85&sig=xsFHVoO2TMS9OB2s7vyZSQ--\")
\u201cWidespread failures in financial regulation\u201d and \u201csystemic breaches in accountability and ethics at all levels\u201d 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, \u201cDespite 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.\u201d 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\u2019s Wall Street Journal, they wrote that the majority report was a \u201csimple narrative\u201d with \u201cpopular appeal\u201d, but called it \u201cincomplete and misleading.\u201d They concluded their article by stating that while they agreed with their colleagues on many points, \u201cIt 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.\u201d There is concern that the bipartisan disagreement has undermined the Commission\u2019s findings.<\/p>\nGUEST: Mary Bottari, Editor of BanksterUSA.org<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n