The bill that the Congress is frantically throwing at the President's desk, and which he will almost certainly sign, looks terrible. Stupid government choices and a lack of honesty are at the root of what happened here, and panicky responses thrown out in a desperate desire to appease voters for the mid-term elections aren't likely to make things better. Alas, unless another bill that more reasonably reforms things is passed after November, I'm afraid we can watch for further tumbles over the next year or two.

Paul Craig Roberts has some good thoughts on the real "root causes" of the current problems (although the rants about the Clintons dilute the message, unfortunately). The best choices, of course, would be to punish people under current law who have committed outright fraud, and let the market take care of the rest. Alas, we seem to have a need as a nation to view government as the paternal force that keeps everyone in line--a role it is completely incapable of by nature.