Quotes of the day

How can we sign a $700 billion bill without any assurances that it will work?--Sen. Richard Shelby

SOX [Sarbanes-Oxley] was sold as the way to prevent future market bubbles and crashes.--Larry Ribstein

A Central Banker should stand up to fear-mongering. Even when it comes from a Treasury Secretary.--Arnold Kling

Medicine isn't about Health
Consulting isn't about Advice
School isn't about Learning
Research isn't about Progress
Politics isn't about Policy--Robin Hanson

If [Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac] fail, the government will have to step up and bail them out the way it stepped up and bailed out the thrift industry.--Peter Wallison, back in 1999

And so, in a single week, the era of the independent investment bank has ended. Wall Street as we've known it for decades has ceased to exist. Six months ago there were five major investment banks. Two -- Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearns -- have failed, Merrill Lynch is selling itself to Bank of America, and now the last two are becoming commercial banks. Adam Smith, that great market disciplinarian, is punishing excesses and remaking American finance long before Congress can get into the act.--WSJ Editorial Board

From Glass-Steagall to Gramm-Leach, from the Great Depression to the Golden Age, from isolationists to internationalists, from underdogs to champions, this bill, in my opinion, Mr. President, is an American success story for our economy, for our financial institutions, for our communities and consumers and for my state of New York. And I was proud to have played a role with so many others in ensuring its passage.--Chuck Schumer

Now that some financial institutions are in trouble, Mr. Schumer has changed his tune. Last week, he took to the Senate floor to blame the financial crisis on "Eight years of deregulatory zeal by the Bush administration."--NY Sun Editorial Board

... you sort of feel like you have to hide [your conservatism]. When you meet, you give each other a secret look — ‘Are you a Republican, too?’ It’s the new gay.--David Zucker