For example, the bankers argued that the so-called Basel III rules might encourage banks to load up on sovereign bonds, even though recent experience has shown that government debt is more risky than it used to be. Ultimately the overall economy will suffer, they said.
So... they should invest in unregulated derivatives based on toxic assets instead? If I was a sovereign government that guaranteed those debts, and if I was a taxpayer funding those guarantees, I might be insulted. And if I was a banker, I might further be insulted if those government bonds were funding things like bank bailouts. But whatev.
Perhaps they are pandering to the likes of Paul Ryan, who Believe that Ireland had government deficits prior to the implosion, and that England has a currency problem. And that we should cut spending on social services now because...otherwise we'd have to cut spending on social services later.
