“Financial Invention vs. Consumer Protection”

Robert Shiller says that while a Consumer Financial Protection Agency is a good idea, it wouldn't have prevented the housing bubble: Financial Invention vs. Consumer Protection, by Robert J. Shiller, Commentary, NY Times : James Watt, who invented the first practical steam engine in 1765, worried that high-pressure steam could lead to major explosions. So he avoided high pressure and ended up with an inefficient engine. It wasn’t until 1799 that Richard Trevithick ... created a high-pr