Listening in Washington?

Washington chose to let financial institutions hide their risks. Though it may have started with Republicans, the Democrats joined in enthusiastically as their one year of economics at Harvard or wherever led them to pay obeisance to the free, unregulated market as bringer of all good things.

Now, not so much. I hope we're not driving off a cliff, but I think we've already driven off (how high a cliff?), and we just have a little time for agonizing reappraisal of coulda, woulda, shoulda before the impact at the bottom.

What was in it for the Democrats anyway? Campaign contributions, the mother's milk of American politics, at the cost of one of their defining values, social class.