In Paulson's world, and Bush's, excess and its ruinous consequences are the natural result of market activity, which is itself sacrosanct. So it will fall to Congress and the presidential candidates to put the truly pressing issues on the agenda. The United States badly needs progressive, pro-market leaders who will advance a legal and regulatory framework to reduce excesses in lending and derivatives and to monitor opaque market actors, like hedge funds and private equity firms. The goal must be to avert or at least mitigate crises that otherwise do damage far beyond the immediate investors.
And to succeed, the country must first stop digging the hole it is in. That will require federal budget discipline, especially health care reform and higher taxes.
It will also require higher private savings. And all of that will require leaders who will level with Americans about the depth of the country's economic problems, including its vulnerability to global turbulence, and the sacrifices it will take to address them.
i think that since hedge funds are such a huge part of the global economy then we need regulation to give us much more clarity and less secrecy
apart from anything else it is global security question -- i don't believe there will be a global economic crash but the prospect has loomed and we know from the 1930s that a global economic depression causes wars thus the argument that hedge funds are private instituations and privacy applies is outweighed
