The U.S. Financial Crisis: Causes and Consequences 2-26-11




Federalist Society Event Audio show

Summary: Many politicians have blamed business for the current recession, leading to additional measures by the U.S. government to regulate the market. Some critics argue that the Federal Reserve's missteps in managing the monetary system created an economic bubble. That bubble pervaded the real estate market in part through relaxed lending standards promulgated by the government-sponsored enterprises Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. When the bubble inevitably deflated, the crisis spread to the general economy, resulting in high unemployment and negative or slow economic growth. But will the measures the government took to stem the crisis and regulate the market reduce economic growth in the long term? John Allison will outline the fundamental economic and philosophical solutions to these problems in his presentation. The Federalist Society's Student Division hosted this speech at the 2011 Annual Student Symposium on February 26, 2011. Mr. Howard Husock, Vice President for Policy Research at the Manhattan Institute, gave the introduction.