It's hard to imagine anyone would say no after observing the near-total collapse of the financial system over the past year.
The operating idea used to be, as touted by economic gurus like Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan and the late economist Milton Friedman, that there should be no government interference with laissez-faire capitalism, leaving bankers to act as they saw fit.
But even the famously obtuse Greenspan, speaking to a Congressional committee nearly a year ago, was forced to admit he had been "partially wrong."
"Those of us who have looked to the self-interest of lending institutions to protect shareholder's equity -- myself especially -- are in a state of shocked disbelief," Greenspan said.
There are hundreds of examples of greed and the lack of common sense that led to this calamity. Speaking to Wall Street executives Monday, President Obama told them the bitter truth:
"We will not go back to the days of reckless behavior and unchecked excess that was at the heart of this crisis, where too many were motivated only by the appetite for quick kills and bloated bonuses."
Obama also warned that, if it happens again, American taxpayers would not be there to bail out the system with billions of dollars.
Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H., the ranking Republican on the Senate Budget Committee, gives the Obama administration "considerable credit" for stabilizing financial markets. But he warned against Congress overreacting now. Other foes of regulation promise that self-regulation will work this time because bankers and brokers have learned their lesson. This time will be different, they say.
We just don't buy it.
One clear lesson from the nation's financial nightmare, as Greenspan learned, is that financial markets motivated solely by profit cannot be relied upon to be self-policing.
As Sen. Gregg says, Congress shouldn't overreact. Clamping down too much would damage markets and hurt competitiveness.
But doing nothing to force accountability onto financial institutions would be heaping foolhardiness on top of folly. And too much time has already passed; Congress needs to act soon.
