#93 Planet Money: The Nightmare of Regulatory Reform




Planet Money show

Summary: Much of this economic crisis has been caused by strange financial products that fell between the cracks of regulatory agencies. As we now know, more regulators didn't always make things better, they often made things worse. Adam Davidson and Alex Blumberg tell the story of the SEC and the CFTC, two agencies that have fought hard to stay apart while the products they regulate grow more and more intertwined. Both Republicans and Democrats agree the two should become one, but former House Financial Services Committee chairman Mike Oxley says the chances of that happening are about as good as him beating Tiger Woods.