Hard to Say How Much Good New Financial 'Reforms' Will Do

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"These reforms making their way through Congress will hold Wall Street accountable so we can help prevent another financial crisis like the one that we're still recovering from." -- Barack Obama, June 25

WASHINGTON -- It is a myth to think that the new financial "reform" legislation, assuming it passes the Senate, will insulate us for all time against financial panic and crisis. Great crises of the sort that occurred in 2008 and 2009 are usually separated by many decades, and so it will be hard to determine how much real protection the law provides. But the underlying ingredients of financial panics are always the same -- uncertainty, ignorance and fear -- and no law can permanently abolish these.

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Hard to Say How Much Good New Financial 'Reforms' Will Do

We have had recent reminders of just how quickly surprises can happen. On May 6, American stock prices dropped a scary 5 percent in a few minutes. Some blue-chip stocks momentarily fell to a penny. The collapse still isn't fu...

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