So much has happened in just the past week, but our analysts are on top of the situation. Here is what Heritage has so far on the current situations in Wall Street and Washington: What Should Be Done About the Financial Markets? Stuart Butler, Alison Fraser, and James Gattuso outline how conservatives should evaluate proposals to the financial crisis. First Thoughts on the New Resolution Trust Corporation David John and J. D. Foster identify key principles any legislation creating a Resolution Trust Corporation-like entity must contain in order to meet …
Yes financial markets are in turmoil right now. But as Dr. Mark Perry of Carpe Diem reminds us, the last 30 years has witnessed an unprecedented gain in U.S. household net worth that is not fundamentally threatened: According to the Federal Reserve, U.S. household net worth fell by $2 trillion over the last year, from $58 trillion in the second quarter of 2007 to about $56 trillion in the second quarter of 2008 (see chart above). But compared to 2002, U.S. household net worth has increased by almost $17 trillion …
The March 13 report of the President’s Working Group on Financial Markets is a good start towards preventing another credit crisis like the one that has been shaking up Wall Street for the last several months. Rather than trying to clean up the current mess or assigning blame, the report seeks to prevent future crises of this type. The good news is that unlike many of the plans that have been floating around Capitol Hill, the report’s proposals seek to supervise and monitor the credit markets rather than to micro-manage …
