Economist Dean Baker discussed the current economic crisis and it’s causes.

Sept. 7 (Bloomberg) — Michael Burry, the former head of Scion Capital LLC who predicted the housing market’s plunge, talks with Bloomberg’s Jon Erlichman about the financial crisis and the housing market. (Source: Bloomberg)

In times of crisis people seek strong leaders and simple solutions. But what if their solutions are identical to the mistakes that caused the very crisis? This is the story of the greatest economic crisis of our age, the one that awaits us.

Barry Eichengreen – renowned professor of Economics and Political Science at the University of California Berkeley, former senior advisor to the IMF, author of “Globalizing Capital: A History of the International Monetary System”, and editor of “Rescuing our Jobs and Savings: What G8 Leaders can do to Solve the Global Credit Crisis” – provides a detailed overview of the financial crisis. He discusses at length: (a) the excessive risk undertaken by a variety of financial institutions as a result of gradual deregulation of financial services sector in the second half of 20th century; (b) the role of both Republican and Democratic parties in maintaining deregulation policies following introduction of US President Ronald Reagan’s “free markets” ideology in 1980; (c) the inability of the US to properly manage or channel massive capital inflows from the developing world – especially China – during the last decade; (d) the failure of Bush administration to mount an adequate response to the financial crisis on account of its initial state of denial, financial engineering mindset, and “free markets” ideology; and (e) actions – such as, interest rate increases, deficit reduction, recapitalization of banks, and economic stimulus – that would have greatly mitigated the severity of the financial crisis. In addition, he dwells on: (f) the impact of the financial crisis on American power and globalization, as well as (g) the nature of institutional reforms required at global level to …

May 24 (Bloomberg) — Jim Bianco, president of Bianco Research LLC, talks with Bloomberg’s Matt Miller about Europe’s financial crisis. (This is an excerpt of the full interview. Source: Bloomberg)

May 21 (Bloomberg) — Gary Townsend, president and co-founder of Hill-Townsend Capital LLC, talks with Bloomberg Television about legislation overhauling the financial regulatory system. (This report is an excerpt. Source: Bloomberg)

May 20 (Bloomberg) — Mark Calabria, director of financial regulation studies at Cato Institute, talks with Bloomberg’s Mark Crumpton about the outlook for Senate passage of legislation overhauling financial regulation. (Source: Bloomberg)

May 19 (Bloomberg) — Scott Talbott, senior vice president for government affairs at the Financial Services Roundtable, talks with Bloomberg’s Mark Crumpton and Julie Hyman about legislation to overhaul the US financial system. (Source: Bloomberg)

May 17 (Bloomberg) — Matthew Bishop, New York business editor for The Economist and author of “The Road from Ruin: How to Revive Capitalism and Put America Back on Top,” talks with Bloomberg’s Matt Miller and Carol Massar about financial regulation in the US Bishop also discusses Europe’s financial crisis and the outlook for the euro, and the US economy. (Source: Bloomberg)

May 12 (Bloomberg) — US Senator Judd Gregg, a Republican from New Hampshire and a member of the Senate Banking Committee, talks with Bloomberg’s Peter Cook about the outlook for legislation to overhaul the nation’s financial system. Gregg, who is also the ranking Republican on the Senate Budget Committee, also discusses the significance of the Greek fiscal crisis for the US (Source: Bloomberg)