Fire, Ready, Aim: The Financial Reform Act and the First Law of Unintended Consequences

A WSJ summary of the Financial Reform Act can be found here and is worth a read.

The President proposes significant regulatory remedies to the financial crisis without a full understanding of the root causes of the problem: hence, Fire, Ready, Aim.

Much has been said about the pay excesses of the various bank executives. I would remind everyone that Japan suffered a banking crisis in the 1990's with low paid executives.

It is my opinion that there are bound to be unseen consequences of hurrying this bill through Congress. These consequences could easily be mitigated by upping the staffing at the various regulatory agencies which already exist (SEC, FDIC, etc) without upsetting the apple cart completely.

Without fully comprehending the problem, we are developing an overly complicated solution. And, it is my fear that this medicine may be far worse for the patient than the illness which it purports to remedy.