Is More Regulation Really The Answer?
Bloomberg reports:
Leaders of advanced and emerging economies are closing ranks behind plans for tougher rules on financial markets to prevent another collapse like the one that wiped out much of Wall Street.
A global approach to regulation has been gaining momentum ahead of the Group of 20 summit April 2 in London. U.S. President Barack Obama, U.K. Prime Minister Gordon Brown and their G-20 counterparts aim to merge their national blueprints for strengthened regulation into a united front to rein in hedge funds, derivatives trading, executive pay and excessive risk- taking by financial firms.
The question is whether more regulation is really the solution to the problem. Mind you the financial sector is already one of the most regulated industries, perhaps only medicare knows stronger compliance.
Of course you can always argue that the fact that a bike is stolen right now in Amsterdam is due to the fact that there isn’t a police man standing next to every bike, guarding it with his life and jails anybody who isn’t the rightful owner but acts as if he is anyway.
No, the problem is not that there aren’t any rules. Not even that there isn’t any enforcement. The problem is that people don’t abide by regulations or professional ethics.
So what is the solution then? How about some good old decency?
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