Strengthening Government's Ability to Deal with the Financial Crisis

As the administration and Congress take actions to address the immediate financial crisis, determining how to place the government's response on a stronger organizational footing is a key step to reducing the likelihood that the nation will experience a similar financial crisis in the future. In his report, Stanton points out the need to address past policies' inconsistencies, lack of transparency, and shortcomings in organizational capacity. In order to do so, he recommends a number of steps to:

• Ensure a perception of legitimacy of the response effort
• Enhance government’s institutional capacity to respond effectively
• Supplement current policies to ensure the flow of credit and assist communities to cope with foreclosed homes