[djsherin]

***It was libertarian laisse-faire economic views that played a considerable role in the financial meltdown.***

Really now?

[dirtboy]

Yes. Credit default swaps were exempted from regulation by Phil Gramm's CFMA legislation, and look at the mess that created. Greenspan thought for years that the financial sector could effectively self-regulate itself. He was wrong, and has acknowledged as much. And the decision to not regulate ICE terminals played a key role in the commodities bubble of last year.

There needs to be basic regulations in place for the financial and insurance sectors to ensure adequate reserves to cover obligations, and to prevent speculators from manipulating commodities markets.