decision

George W. Bush has no regrets about his decision to initiate the $700-billion bailout of Wall Streett. In a special hour-long interview Sunday evening with Candy Crowley on “State of the Union,” the former president defended his reaction to the financial crisis in 2008: GEORGE W. BUSH: I wasn’t a very good economic prognosticator. I did know we were in deep trouble. And that’s why I made the decision I made. And in my book, I chronicle the history of the meltdown and then the decisions I took to prevent the economy from cratering. There is a lot of people who said, well, the economy, we wouldn’t have seen a depression. The problem is, when you’re the president, you don’t have the luxury of being — talking about the theoretical. I was advised by people who I trust. I trusted Hank Paulson and Ben Bernanke that we had better do something. And so I did set aside my free market principles and made a very difficult decision. CROWLEY: But never regretted it. GEORGE W. BUSH: No, I don’t. I really don’t. Bush told Crowley that regulation and oversight could not have prevented the great recession without also hindering economic growth: GEORGE W. BUSH: Yes. No, I think there’s a lot of people watching. And I remember Bear Stearns fails in the spring of 2008, and we acted. But the interconnectedness of the situation and the money flowing into the country as a result of trade deficits, and foreign investors looking for greater returns, and the housing — the assumption that the housing prices were going to go up, all led to this, you know, house of cards. And when it started to collapse, it really started to collapse. And obviously if there was some way to have stopped it, I would have liked to have done so. But it was — I hope it’s a once-in-a-lifetime situation, but they said the Great Depression was a once-in-a-lifetime situation as well. The problem is, you’ve got to be very careful, Candy, not to over-regulate, because if you try to over-regulate, then investment’s not going to flow. And if investment doesn’t flow, then people aren’t going to be able to find work. CROWLEY: Except I would think, wow, if somebody had set some standards for loans, these banks would not have been stuck with so much bad paper. And — GEORGE W. BUSH: Well, yes, that’s right. There were sloppy lending practices, no question about it. And I wish they would have paid a price. CROWLEY: But isn’t that regulation? GEORGE W. BUSH: Well, the regulations are on the books about sloppy lending prices. And, yes — the danger is, is that — I mean, the logic of your questioning is, OK, now in order to prevent a future collapse from happening, we must over-regulate, or regulate a lot. And the danger — CROWLEY: Or regulate more. GEORGE W. BUSH: Well, I mean, it depends on what you’re talking about. The problem is regulation tends to stifle capital investment. And capital investment is what’s necessary to grow the economy. So you’ve got to find the right balance. President Bush’s continued support for TARP is at odds with most newly-elected members of Congress who campaigned against the bailout and succeeded in reclaiming the House majority. A recent poll found that most Americans blame Wall Steet and former President Bush for the economic crisis–not President Obama. However, those same voters who blame Wall Street, were more likely to vote for Republicans than Democrats–a surprise, considering the Republican parties efforts to neuter legislation that would regulate Wall Street. WATCH: A clip of Crowley’s interview with Bush