Makers and Takers
by: Rana Foroohar
Central Theme:
Reducing debt and encouraging financial transparency could help us fix the financial system.
Recommendation:
“Makers and Takers” by Rana Foroohar provides a historical background to show how deregulation shaped risky behavior and a lack of transparency in the financial system. It provides a simple, optimistic view of how to reestablish skin in the game and re-purpose finance for its original intentions.
Summary:
Before regulations in the financial sector were loosened, the sole purpose of finance was to support business and fuel economic growth. In an age when companies have become banks and vice versa, we should aim to allow finance to focus on its original goal. The first step Foroohar suggests is reducing the complexity of banking and financial regulation. In addition, regulation law has become far from transparent. With more vague regulation has only come a host of new loopholes to further blur the lines between commercial and investment banking. Finally, as Taleb has signaled, bankers and companies need skin in the game. By forcing big players to invest their own stake and own the burden of risk, a level of ownership and responsibility can be reestablished to properly structure incentives.
