I am afraid that many professionals are missing the frayed threads that connect the recent disasters associated with the 2008 financial system implosion and Toyota’s enormous belated recall for accelerator and brake problems. Where were the gatekeepers that were supposed to be minding their posts to protect consumers, investors and society in general?

It appears that Congress, regulators, boards of directors, and debt-rating agencies were just asleep at the switch or acting like risk-avoidance bureaucrats. The sub prime crisis would have been nipped in the bud had bank regulators raised an eyebrow at the extensive use of derivatives that had no clearing house, off balance sheet leveraging, leverage in general, irresponsible mortgage lending, ARMs, high loan to value loans or NINJA loans.

The Toyota debacle might have been better contained if someone, like the NHTSA, had investigated the reports of acceleration and brake problems reported years ago by consumers and State Farm Insurance despite the seemingly defensive deflections from the auto companies. In both cases financial ruin and losses of lives may have been avoided.

Unfortunately, our regulatory and oversight watchdogs have either given aggressive business machines too much leeway or been conflicted by compromising incentives. The result is a barn door flung wide open and society trampled by the stampede.

It seems bureaucrats are more obliged to not rock a boat than keep commercial business within acceptable risk tolerance boundaries and irresponsible practices. Congress, regulators, BODs and oversight agencies need to reexamine their mission statements and enforce their authorities. A great financial system and auto company appear to have been seriously impaired by a lack thereof.

Harvey Gillis, Bellevue