Stiglitz is a Nobel Laureate Economist and former chief economist at the World Bank, who warned years ago of the perils of deregulation and the credit default swaps; Warren is a Harvard Law professor, federal bailout watchdog, and favorite tv commentator on our financial system; and Soros is best described as "a legendary investor" whose interests transcend making money to concerns about the world's economy. They were featured speakers at a conference at Roosevelt University on reforming the nation's financial system.
Stiglitz made the best headlines by saying that a country applying to the World Bank for aid that had a financial regulatory system such as the U.S. Federal Reserve system would have raised alarms.
"if we had seen a governance structure that corresponds to our Federal Reserve system, we would have been yelling and screaming and saying that country does not deserve any assistance. This is a corrupt governing structure. . . . It's time for us to reflect on our own structure today, and to say there are parts that can be improved."To Stiglitz, the core issue is that regional Fed banks, like the New York Fed, have very clear conflicts of interest -- a result of the banks being partly governed by a board of directors that include the very banks they're supposed to be overseeing.
"The reason you talk about governance is because in a democracy you want people to have confidence. This is a structure that will undermine confidence in a democracy."
Makes sense to me.
Ralph
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