Financial Regulation: Who and How?

One of the biggest challenges in government at every level is how to regulate complex economic and industrial institutions without putting the fox in charge of the hen house.

The answer, as it has been since the time of the Greek philosophers, is to have people in charge who combine knowledge and ability with integrity. The ideal of the "philosopher king."

More easily said than done.

You may not think of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) as a likely place to find a philosopher-king. Think again.

Joe Nocera, a financial reporter and op-ed writer for the New York Times has just published an exit interview with Sheila Bair, who just completed her five-year term as head of FDIC. His article is well worth reading.

The comments by readers are also worth reading.

The article answers a lot of questions about how we got where we are with the economy and who might have been able to keep things from being as bad as they are.