First a cure, now comes a diagnosis - Personal Finance - MiamiHerald.com

Personal Finance - MiamiHerald.com: "First a cure, now comes a diagnosis BY TOM HUDSON
Nightly Business Report
Finally. Two and a half years after the collapse of Lehman Brothers, almost three years after the federal government arranged fire sale of Bear Stearns and 3 ½ years after the Federal Reserve first acknowledged something was wrong with America's financial system, next week we will hear the definitive answers to what went wrong.
Or maybe not. After a two month delay, the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission is due to turn in its report on the near collapse of American finance on Thursday. Not only is this report overdue, it likely will not draw unanimous conclusions about what was to blame for bringing the U.S. economy to a standstill.
Already, the Republicans on the panel released their initial findings. Among the GOP conclusions: it was a financial panic brought on by sophisticated financial products used by sophisticated financial institutions. In other words, it wasn't a housing bubble per se. But Uncle Sam's contribution by investing in home mortgages through Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac was significant.
We will see on Thursday if any of the Democratic members of the panel agree.
The trouble with this report designed to ``examine the causes of the current financial and economic crisis in he United States'' is the medicine has already been administered to the patient. Borrowing rates are at historic lows, billions in stimulus dollars have been spent and Congress has OKed financial reforms. And now we learn the causes?
Tom Hudson is anchor of Nightly Business Report, produced by NBR Worldwide and distributed nationally by PBS. In South Florida, the show is broadcast at 7 p.m. weekdays on Channel 2."