Meanwhile, back in the Old Country . . .

Financial firms are turning to their governments for a bailout.  Perhaps this will cause a slight pause in the screams that this is entirely the fault of the Bush administration gutting the SEC--whatever Fortis' problems, it's hard to attribute them to a lax SEC.  We clearly need better regulations.  But bank runs are complicated creatures.  There is no single cause of this, and there will not be a single solution, either.

This article available online at:

http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2008/09/meanwhile-back-in-the-old-country/4191/