OTB: Bankers and OPM

Should banks be regulated by the State, like utilities? These guys think so.

Now as a libertarian in good standing I don’t know that I can truly condone government regulation and meddling … except … as the writer quotes, the banks are indeed playing with OPM – Other People’s Money, whether it’s in the initial risky loans or in the bailouts that they demand come from my pocket after those loans go sideways.

Perhaps an understanding that banks need to be insured against losses (hey, my car and house are!) and that banks, insured or not, should have no better right to dip into my pocket for a risky investment than anyone else, would prevent the need for tougher regulation. But, up until such happens, if the banks are going to have a call on my wallet, perhaps I – through my legislator – need to have some say in how they operate.

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