Congress, Paulson, and the Rescue

Joe Nocera reviews the Congressional hearings into the Bank of America merger with Merrill Lynch. These hearings are an object lesson why we are lucky that we do not have to rely on Congress during a crisis. Of course, those who have to deal with the crisis must deal with the Monday Morning Quarterbacks.

Last December we were tottering on a collapse of the credit system. That crisis was averted. It is not uncommon to forget how close we were to a crisis. Then the actions that proved vital may in retrospect seem unnecessary. This is how bad policy is made.