Gee, no kidding! Greenspan says Dodd-Frank out of touch.

According to Financial Times:  "Dodd-Frank fails to meet test of our times"

By Alan Greenspan
Published: March 29 2011 18:31 | Last updated: March 29 2011 18:31

The US regulatory agencies will in the coming months be bedevilled by unanticipated adverse outcomes as they translate the Dodd-Frank Act’s broad set of principles into a couple of hundred detailed regulations. The act’s underlying premise is that much of what occurred in the market place leading up to the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy was excess (hardly controversial) and that its causes would be readily addressed by this wide-ranging statute (questionable).
The financial system on which Dodd-Frank is being imposed is far more complex than the lawmakers, and even most regulators, apparently contemplate. We will almost certainly end up with a number of regulatory inconsistencies whose consequences cannot be readily anticipated. Early returns on the restructuring do not bode well. "


There is more to the article, but FT frowns on cut and paste...  You can find them on the web.  They are a worthwhile publication you should consider purchasing a subscription.

Personally, I think it's the kettle calling the pot black... but then I never was a Greenspan fan in the first place! 

 

What's your time horizon?

How far down the road do you look when making decisions?  What environment's pertinent to your outlook?  Are you all about the "here and now" or do you look longer term?  If you follow the press... it's all about now.  If you follow your members needs, it's a much longer term that needs to be considered. 

In fact, I always take action following the following axiom:   Rule #1 -- Be here next year.

That's pretty tough when our numbers come out monthly, we have an annual budget, and we are constantly renewing our 5-year plan.  We really need to gaze further down the road than those short time-frames.

We certainly can't ignore current trends, but we should reflect how that will impact the future.  I've seen cu's making 3% auto loans for up to 60 months.  If they looked at their short-term investments, this may look to be a good idea.  However, 36 months from now, that may not have been the best use of their funds.  Especially when you figure in maintaining the account, statements, loss ratios... etc. 

Like a good poker player, you've got to know when to hold them and when to sit the hand out.