Dissent from the Majority Report of the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission

Book excerpt: Peter J. Wallison is the only member of the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission (FCIC) to release a formal dissent to the FCICOs official report on the causes of the financial crisis. Wallison, codirector of financial policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute, argues that the FCICOs report fails to address the cause of the deterioration in mortgage underwriting standards that led to the housing bubble widely accepted as the key factor in destabilizing the American economy. Wallison's Dissent to the Majority Report of the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission reveals that government-mandated subprime loans, not greedy investors, were the force behind the deterioration in underwriting standards. This dissent is a must-read for anyone seeking to understand the causes of the financial crisis_and to prevent future economic collapse.