Scrutinize first, then implement.

Editor,

Here is a proposal that will make "free-market" enthusiasts howl:

Instead of waiting for financial industry "innovations" to wreak havoc with our economy and ruin individual citizens' lives, why not institute a rule that proposed "innovations" be evaluated by government, including full vetting by the public, before being allowed to be implemented?

After all, oversight like that proposed in this article is required to be exhaustively vetted before being implemented. So why are abominations like payday lenders allowed to spring up and only after they have wrung enormous profits at exorbitant interest rates from people who can least afford to pay them are they scrutinized and regulated?

Allowing the most damage to be done to the most vulnerable by the most powerful before bringing "innovations" under control seems to me to be the exact opposite of how our self-governing nation should go about managing its finances.

Re: "Collection and Credit Firms Facing Broad New Oversight" (2/16/2012)