A Little Regulation Never Hurt Anyone

Here's a good post that shows how government regulation in the form of consumer protection might not be the pure evil thing that Fox News Republican, Free-market Propaganda Network claims it to be.

Of Innovation and Confidence Tricks - Maxine Udall (girl economist)

A Joe Stiglitz quote highlighted in the post

In all these go-go years of cheap money, Wall Street did not come up with a good mortgage product. A good mortgage product would have low transaction costs and low interest rates and would have helped people manage the risk of home ownership, including protection in the event their house loses value or borrowers lose their job. Homeowners also want monthly payments that are predictable, that don't shoot up without warning, and that don't have hidden costs. The US financial markets didn't look to construct these better products, even though they are in use in other countries. Instead Wall Street firms, focused on maximizing their returns, came up with mortgages that had high transaction costs and variable interest rates with payments that could suddenly spike, but with no protection against the risk of a loss in home value or the risk of job loss.