Too Technical, Too much and Too little??

Several readers complained, commented and whined about the level of technical jargon in my previous post.  "What is a subprime mortgage? How do they get  securitized?" they asked me. Well I could write a 500 page manifesto on this topic but there is an almost 9 minute video (staring the brilliant comics John Bird and John Fortune) which explains everything beautifully. Subprime Crisis

President Obama laid out his frame work for a more centralized more efficient financial regulation by adding two agencies and getting rid of one.  Reminds me of the Tom Lehrer's song New Math. 

I'm confused.  

I don't understand how we can achieve more government efficiency by adding another government agency to effectively regulate highly paid, highly educated, highly motivated financial wizards.  Only the supreme brain power of the University of Chicago, Harvard, Wharton, Kellogg, Stanford, Columbia, and NYU business schools could have produced this colossal systematic meltdown. The poorly paid government worker never had a chance. 

[Hint: Better pay induces wall street types to leave the sin of their profession and go to the holiness that is public service. The GS scale doesn't cut it.  You can't buy Armani on a government salary and send you kids the finest private schools.]

(And why oh why didn't they merge the SEC and the CFTC? Were they afraid of cooties?)

Well I'm reading the 85 page financial regulation manifesto and it's putting me to sleep.  

Till next time.