Learning from mistakes

Sunday, April 26, 2009 | 2:07 a.m.

After the 9/11 attacks, Congress established a bipartisan commission that pinpointed weaknesses in national security. Although many of the 9/11 Commission recommendations have yet to be fulfilled, they offered a valuable road map that can help the nation avoid repeating many of the mistakes that were made leading up to the attacks.

The same potential holds true for a proposed Financial Markets Commission whose members, appointed by Congress, would study the reasons behind the economic meltdown. The proposal, approved Wednesday by the Senate, suggests providing the commission with $5 million to carry out its work.

Some of the reasons behind the meltdown are obvious. Lack of government oversight of financial institutions served as an enabler for the risky loans that contributed to the economic downfall.

Other reasons may not be as obvious but could prove to be equally damaging. An example, reported Thursday by The Wall Street Journal, was testimony in New York from Bank of America CEO Kenneth Lewis that he was pressured last year by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and then-Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson to remain silent about the severity of financial problems at Merrill Lynch & Co. The government, fearing the financial crisis would spread if Merrill failed, encouraged the bank to buy the brokerage firm, which landed Lewis on the hot seat with shareholders for approving such a risky deal.

Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., co-sponsor of the bill, made a persuasive argument for creating a commission when he said: “The American people, many of whom saw their retirement accounts take significant losses in recent months, demand and deserve to know what caused our financial system to spiral downward so far so fast.”

A commission that digs deep into the crisis is bound to discover the root causes, assign blame where it is warranted, and make recommendations that could help this country avoid making the same mistakes that got us into this mess. That is why the bill should also be passed by the House and signed by President Barack Obama.