A Weblog Dedicated to the Discussion of the Christian Faith and 21st Century Life

A Weblog Dedicated to the Discussion of the Christian Faith and 21st Century Life
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I do not seek to understand that I may believe, but I believe in order to understand. For this also I believe, –that unless I believed, I should not understand.-- St. Anselm of Canterbury (1033-1109)

Friday, October 03, 2008

Opinion Central Poll 2008.62: Final Results

4 comments:

preacherman said...

Allan,
Interesting post for us.
Thank you for dealing with this so important topic. To tell you the truth I was not suprised. I hope you and your family have a blessed weekend. You, your family and ministry are always in my prayers. Keep up the great work you do with your blog. It has been a blessing for me.

Andrew C. Thompson said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Andrew C. Thompson said...

When I saw the title of the poll, I just assumed the choices would be "Republicans" or "Democrats." But it would be as hard for me to answer between those two as it is for me to answer between "Government" and "Private Sector." I did hear a pundit say that the average American will more nearly trust Democrats in times of financial stress, which makes sense.

In the highly partisan context that we are living in right now, it is difficult for me to even sort through the punditry that I read in the papers and watch on TV. For instance, one would assume that a rigorous, but not oppressive, regulation of the mortgage lending industry (i.e., Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac) could have helped us avoid the dilemma we are currently in. But depending on who you are listening to, it is either the fault of the Democrats or Republicans, can be traced to either the Clinton administration or the Bush administration, and is the direct fault of either a Democratic or Republican congress.

I just want the government to regulate the financial sector in such a way that greedy CEOs and companies don't cross the line into irresponsibility (or even illegality), while still making room for healthy business. Is that so much to ask? And who can give it to us??

Allan R. Bevere said...

Preacherman:

Thanks so much for your kind comments.

Andrew:

When I composed the poll, I did not even think to separate the government out between political parties, probably because I think both parties bear responsibility.

When one looks at the history of this whole meltdown, it was a long work in progress, which started in the Clinton Administration and carried through the Bush Administration. In addition, the Republican Congress failed in its oversight, and when the Democrats in 06 had an opportunity to reform its oversight of Freddie and Fannie, they claimed that both were solvant. So it seems to me to say that only one party is responsible is more a result of partisanship than the truth.

Of course, greed on Wall Street is largely responsible as well, as well as individuals who tried to live outside their means. This whole mess was the result of a concerted effort all the way around.

Your last paragraph is important. How does the government provide the kind of oversight and accountability without over-reaching and discouraging the growth of business. My concern in all of this is not that government has a place, but that in its greed for power, it will over-reach and put in place too much regulation.

Sarbanes-Oxley, which was passed after the Enron scandal is a case in point. In light of Enron, government needed to do something, but they did too much, and it has really discouraged new IPOs.