Br Chris Warren '09 Presentation to the Alexander Hamilton Institute on Government Role in Financial Crisis

Excerpt from Br Warren's presentation:

Looking at a history of economic panics in the United States shows many similarities, but also reflects a great deal of evolution. Throughout our history we have repeated many of our mistakes such as problematic real estate speculation, faulty loans, deregulation, and other mistakes. During the same period our economy has also become much more complicated, experienced incredible international integration and has radically reshaped government monetary policy and intervention.

During this talk I will touch briefly on the landscape of economic Panics during the 19th century before moving to the vastly different era of the 20th century and today. I will show the effects of the 1907 Panic that lead to the emergence of a Federal Reserve System and show how that system has moved from what was essentially a bank to a monetary authority after the Great Depression. I will then address the more complicated effects of government in more current crises such as the S&L, LTCM and 07-08 Sub-Prime Meltdown.