1) A review of the securities rating agencies and the rating systems.
2) A review of derivative securities (financial weapons of mass destruction) such as credit default swaps, how they contributed to this mess and how they can be regulated to prevent this from happening again..
3) A review of sub-prime (and similar) mortgages and those who issue them.
4) A review of the compensation system on Wall Street for both those selling these securities and the CEO's and other executives who receive massive salaries and bouses regardless of company performance.
5) "Re-regulate" the entire industry which has been de-regulated drastically over the last twenty plus years.
I pray that the new President we elect on November 4th is more engaged and curious than the current occupant of the White House. He will have to have some financial sense to guide us this through this storm. I also pray that he puts the needs of the people ahead of those of the corporations. It is the "let the free market reign" philosophy that has gotten us into this mess. Free markets do NOT self-regulate. There has to be some wisdom and perspicacity that will allow the new President to see that regulation is good if it deters fraud, keeps them honest and transparent, and protects the consumer all without being too burdensome on those we seek to regulate. It's a tall order but it can be done. It's been done in the past and we can do it again.
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