U.S. government has become irreversibly involved in many businesses’ affairs

One day in the not-too distant past, seemingly eons ago, top executives of Lehman Brothers met with Federal Reserve and Treasury officials at the Federal Reserve offices in New York. At issue was what to do about Lehman. A top Lehman executive reportedly told government officials that Lehman had no idea of the amount of risk on their books in credit default swaps, and then said, “Neither do you.” It’s astonishing that a top official of a major investment bank would not know the amount of risk that the firm had on its books, but it simply reveals the state of affairs at the time. The Fed did not have any idea about the size or scope of the market, because Alan Greenspan had refused to regulate it even when advised to do so.

Even now, firms are still learning of the risk they have undertaken. This conversation may have been the basis for the decision by Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson to let Lehman file for bankruptcy. Paulson has said that Lehman did not have adequate collateral for a government loan. Based on subsequent events it probably is a decision that he would like back. […]