Felix Salmon has a good take on the continuing importance of the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, which is meeting today to talk derivatives -- watch them grill regulators and finance execs live.
Salmon hopes that the FCIC's report will provide a hopefully nonpartisan agenda for future reform, and while that's an ideal outcome, I agree with him that the idea of depoliticizing this issue is a bit pie-in-the-sky. However, with so much regulatory discretion in the financial-reform bill, the FCIC's final product should provide rhetorical ammunition for reformers urging government officials to write the strongest possible rules and a clear guidebook for where regulators should focus. If the FCIC's report plays a role in directing regulatory decision-making in a positive direction, the commission will have certainly fulfilled its mandate.
-- Tim Fernholz
