The Economic Consequences of Financial Regulation

Abstract

The dividing line between Main Street and Wall Street is nonsense in an economy that has become so heavily finance driven as that of the United States. It feels good to punish the banks, but it always involves punishing ourselves. Accountability for individual bankers is a horse of a different color, and it remains sorely lacking, to be sure. Cutting finance down to size begs the question of what will replace it as a driver of employment and economic growth.