FedSoc Forums

The 2008 financial crisis—like the Great Depression—was a world-historical event. What caused it will be debated for years, if not generations. The conventional narrative is that the financial crisis was caused by Wall Street’s actions and insufficient regulation of the financial system. That narrative produced the Dodd-Frank Act, the most comprehensive financial-system regulation since the New Deal. A competing narrative about what caused the financial crisis has received little attention -- many contend that the crisis was caused not by bad actors on Wall Street, but by government housing policies. Peter Wallison marshals evidence in support of this view in his recently-released book, Hidden in Plain Sight: What Really Caused the World’s Worst Financial Crisis and Why It Could Happen Again. -- Featuring: Hon. Peter J. Wallison, Arthur F. Burns Fellow in Financial Policy Studies, American Enterprise Institute and Prof. Todd J. Zywicki , Foundation Professor of Law, George Mason University School of Law