Clinton calls for panel of foxes to examine henhouse theft

Posted By Blake Hounshell Monday, March 24, 2008 - 11:17 AM Share

When you don't have a plan, call for an expert panel:

Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton called on President Bush on Monday to appoint ''an emergency working group on foreclosures'' to recommend new ways to confront the nation's housing finance troubles.

The New York senator said the panel should be led by financial experts such as Robert Rubin, who was treasury secretary in her husband's administration, and former Federal Reserve chairmen Alan Greenspan and Paul Volcker.

Volcker is a good choice, and he has had some smart things to say of late. Alan Greenspan and Robert Rubin are undoubtedly brilliant, accomplished men who know a great deal about the financial markets and are generally well-respected in Washington. But with all due respect to Senator Clinton, they're not the right people to lead such a mission. Greenspan, after all, was the one whose slashing of interest rates helped spark the housing bubble. And Robert Rubin has been on the board of Citigroup, making him neither the most disinterested observer nor a particularly prescient one. Citigroup was up to its ears in subprime mortgages.

Greenspan and Rubin still might have some good ideas for getting us out of the current mess, even if they helped to cause it. But think of it like this: If your doctor missed tell-tale signs that you had cancer until it was nearly too late, wouldn't you start looking for advice elsewhere?

EXPLORE:NORTH AMERICA, DECISION '08, ECONOMICS, FINANCE, POLITICS

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