“Glass-Steagall was Rooseveltian fascism, and was rightly repealed.”
Unfortunately, you have FDIC and FSLIC. As long as the public is insuring bank deposits, bankers can’t be allowed to speculate wildly with that money. That results in the worst of crony capitalism. If the speculation pays off, the banks get the benefits. If it crashes, the public pays the losses.
If you eliminate Glass, you also have to eliminate FDIC and FSLIC insurance.
Agreed. Government guarantees are an illusory form of security. (If the markets go, what will hold up the government's assets? Barleycorns?) Since when did governments become trustworthy with other people's money? The're just ordinary folks watching over stuff that isn't theirs. They're not going to do as careful a job as people do with their own property.