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by: Isaac , William M.; Meyer, Philip C.; Volcker, Paul A.

ISBN: 9781118431986 | 1118431987

Panic is a thoughtful analysis of what went wrong with the nation's banking system-from mistakes made in the private sector as well as serious missteps by government at various levels of the government. Author George Issac, a Fed insider who wasn't involved in the botched decision making of 2008, was asked to testify before Congress about the bank rescue plan which he opposed. In this book, he presents a blunt indictment of the US policy. William Issac, who lead the highly successful efforts to control the great banking and S&L crises of the 19... MORE80s and early 1990s, believes that the 2008 crisis was in large part attributable to the misdiagnosis of the banking and S&L crises of the 1980s. He does not hesitate to identify the policy mistakes over the two decades from 1990 to 2008 that led to the crisis of 2008 and the bungling of the crisis by top government leaders, such as Secretary Paulson, that turned that crisis into a PANIC. The book concludes by discussing what must be done to prevent future crises and is highly critical of the current financial reform proposals from the Obama Administration and the Congress, arguing that they are weak and ineffective.

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Praise for Senseless Panic "Washington had better read this book. Bill Isaac is absolutely on target in his acute analysis of what he rightly calls the Senseless Panic of 2008. He was at the center in preventing what could have been an even worse banking debacle back in the 1980s-but it didnt happen, thanks to his level-headed leadership. If Washington politicians ignore Isaacs insights, we will pay a fearful price." -Steve Forbes, Chief Executive Officer, Forbes, Inc. "Bill Isaac has dedicated his life to the public policy arena. He thinks straight, and he talks straight. Washington must read Senseless Panic to learn the lessons of the past and set the course for the future." -Lawrence Kudlow, host of CNBCs The Kudlow Report "Bill Isaac throws down the gauntlet to Bush, Paulson, Obama, and Geithner. Their fixes and bailouts, he argues persuasively, were wrongheaded and very expensive. Learn from past crises and prevent the next collapse, says this experienced and outspoken former bank regulator. Let the real debate within the establishment begin." -Ralph Nader, lawyer, author, and political activist "I would respectfully urge President Obama: Read this book. Emulate success. Spend time debriefing this real-world financial expert. What other effective bank regulator, besides Paul Volcker and Bill Isaac, do you know who fixed our broken financial system for two presidents-Carter and Reagan? Nothing speaks louder than success." -Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) "If our national leaders had listened to Bill Isaac over the past two decades, particularly when the crisis hit in 2008, we would have avoided the enormously costly financial meltdown. This book is must reading for students of financial history." -Dr. Arthur Laffer, Chairman, Laffer Associates "In the 2008 debate over TARP, Bill Isaac came to Washington and presented over 200 members of Congress with an alternative to the government bailout. His arguments helped convince a skeptical House to stunningly reject and vote down the bailout proposal. Although the administration, leaders of both parties, and Wall Street drove a panicked stampede toward government intervention, Bill delivered a forceful case that still counters the myth that Washington had only one viable option to address the financial crisis. Bills book is must reading for all who care about financial and economic reform." -Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA)

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The truth about the 2008 economic crisis from a Washington insider The 1980s opened with the prime interest rate at an astonishing 21. 5 percent, leading to a severe recession with unemployment reaching nearly 11 percent.

William M.Isaac is Senior Managing Director and Global Head of Financial Institutions for FTI Consulting and Chairman of Fifth Third Bancorp. Both are positions he assumed after this book was published in its hardcover edition. He served as Chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation during the banking and SL crises of the 1980s, when some 3,000 banks and thrifts failed, including nine of the ten largest Texas banks as well as Continental Illinois, then the nation's seventh largest bank. Isaac writes frequently for the Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Forbes, Washington Times, Washington Post, New York Times, American Banker, and other leading publications; testifies before Congress; and makes regular appearances on leading radio and television programs.