DC Public Library System

Hidden in plain sight, what really caused the world's worst financial crisis and why it could happen again, Peter J. Wallison

eng

Includes bibliographical references (pages 363-392) and index

illustrations

index present

non fiction

Hidden in plain sight

bibliography

879329299

Peter J. Wallison

what really caused the world's worst financial crisis and why it could happen again

The 2008 financial crisis, like the Great Depression, was a world-historical event. What caused it will be debated for years, if not generations. The conventional narrative is that the financial crisis was caused by Wall Street greed and insufficient regulation of the financial system. That narrative produced the Dodd-Frank Act, the most comprehensive financial-system regulation since the New Deal. There is evidence, however, that the Dodd-Frank Act has slowed the recovery from the recession. If insufficient regulation caused the financial crisis, then the Dodd-Frank Act will never be modified or repealed; proponents will argue that doing so will cause another crisis

Introduction -- The difference between prime and nontraditional mortgages (NTMS) -- Red herrings : other explanations for the crisis -- The housing finance market before the affordable housing goals -- Government housing policies kick in -- The affordable housing goals and the decline in underwriting standards -- Force fed : the affordable housing goals, the gses, and the NTMS -- Going viral : competition spreads the gses' reduced underwriting standards to the wider market -- The great housing bubble -- Ignorance and bliss : what was known about the NTM market before the crisis -- How 32 million NTMS precipitated a financial crisis -- Fair value accounting and collateral damage -- Bad to worse : the government response -- Conclusion