Event Summary
Since the passage of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, officials have struggled to get ahead of the evolving financial crisis. Critics contend the size, shifting rationale and focus of federal financial rescue efforts put the government in a dangerous new position with controlling interests in banks, auto companies and insurance firms. Proponents argue that this flexibility is necessary to contend with these unprecedented challenges and to allow the government to right the economy.
On May 8, Senior Fellow Martin Baily and the Initiative on Business and Public Policy at Brookings hosted a conversation with Senator Bob Corker (R-Tenn), a member of the Senate Banking Committee, to discuss the federal response to both the financial crisis and the broader economic downturn.
After the program, the senator took questions from the audience.