Evening Must-Read: Room for Debate: Did the Bank Bailout Do Enough for the Country? No. It Did Not

Room for Debate: Did the Bank Bailout Do Enough for the Country?:

AMIR SUFI, UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO: Housing Crisis Was Overlooked: Letting bankruptcy judges write down mortgages and providing an ambitious mortgage refinancing plan would have reduced foreclosures.

LEE SACHS, FORMER COUNSELOR TO THE TREASURY SECRETARY: Our System Is Safer and More Stable: Radical reshaping should not be an objective for its own sake. Rescue efforts and reforms protected consumers, taxpayers and the flow of credit.

DEAN BAKER, CENTER FOR ECONOMIC AND POLICY RESEARCH: Better No Bailout, Than the One We Got: Banks weren’t forced to shrink and get boring. If they were allowed to fail, federal spending could have kept the economy afloat and led to recovery.

ANAT R. ADMATI, STANFORD UNIVERSITY: Too Much Debt and Not Enough Equity: Tougher requirements would have prevented banks from hiding their true losses, and loosened credit for businesses and individuals.

EDWARD HARRISON, CREDIT WRITEDOWNS: More Focus Is Needed on Deep Economic Flaws: Until we address stagnant income, high household debt, insufficient bank capital and excessive risk, another crisis may be inevitable.

GLENN HUBBARD, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY: Too Narrow a Focus on Banks: There was little discussion of financial institutions other than banks and government institutions, which helped spread contagion.