Many of us like to think of financial economics as a science, but complex events like the financial crisis suggest that this conceit may be more wishful thinking than reality.
Not every business cycle has a financial crisis. Frequently they do.
The details of what the Fed did were kept secret until a provision in the Dodd-Frank Act that I sponsored required the Government Accountability Office to audit the Fed's lending programs during the financial crisis.
Let me tell you, one of the most proud aspects of my career was buying Indymac during the financial crisis.
The financial crisis of 2008 was not caused by investment banks betting against the housing market in 2007. It was caused by the fact that too few investors - including all of the big investment banks - bet too heavily on the housing market in the years before 2007.
The financial crisis was linked to the fact that banks had excessive leverage and too many risky assets. The solution is not to try to dictate to banks what they can do or not do, but to require them to strengthen their capital to absorb potential losses and hold less risky assets.
The Obama administration's large and sustained increases in debt raise the specter of another financial crisis and large future tax increases, further chilling business investment and job creation.
I felt that the Fed had always been the agency that picked up the pieces when there was a financial crisis, and it was invented to do exactly that.
At some point, there will be some other financial crisis. It's in the nature of a capitalist system.
For some in my generation, Sept. 11th was a moment of political awakening. For others, the Iraq War or the financial crisis or the rise of Obama were the major events of their teenage years that began to lay the foundation for their views.
People aren't as impressed by homes anymore after they saw how they collapsed in price with the financial crisis.
If Freddie Mac is unable to raise capital, it could spark a political and financial crisis.
After the global financial crisis of 2008, populist uprisings had sprouted across Europe. Putin and his strategists sensed the beginnings of a larger uprising that could upend the Continent and make life uncomfortable for his geostrategic competitors.
Sometimes, the aftermath is more devastating than the storm. That is the story of the 2008 financial crisis. It was disastrous at the time, but what has been worse is how long it has lingered.
So how does the machine work that you have a financial crisis? How does deleveraging work - what is the nature of that machine? And what is human nature, and how do you raise a community of people to run a business?
The financial crisis that began in the summer of 2007 was an extraordinarily complex event with multiple causes.
The financial crisis is a stark reminder that transparency and disclosure are essential in today's marketplace.
