 "Photo: Sara Manco")
Sheila Bair, chairman of the Federal Insurance Deposit Corporation, said she is very proud to be a republican from Kansas after taking the podium in McCain auditorium on Tuesday as the 154 Landon Lecturer.
A native of Independence, Kan., Bair was appointed to office of chairman in June of 2006 by president George W. Bush.
“It’s a great joy to be back home in Kansas,” Bair said. “There are few places on Earth that can compare with Kansas and the hard working stand up people who live here. Wherever I’ve worked or traveled, I’ve never forgotten the basic American values of liberty, opportunity and common sense that I’ve learned by growing up in Independence.”
Bair said she looked up to former Kansas Governor Alf Landon, whom the lecture series is named after, for his support of reforms called for by President Franklin Roosevelt.
“He was a problem solver always promoting the common good not the expedient,” she said.
Bair spoke about the current state of the economy, the purpose of the FDIC, the need for regulatory reform and gave her recommendations for how to fix it.
“We’re tackling the aftermath of a financial and economic crisis that has done as much if not more damage to our country than a Kansas tornado,” Bair said.
Some of her recommendations included the creation of a council to monitor the decisions made in the U.S. economic regulatory system.
“What we need is a systemic risk council of national regulatory agencies with the authority and responsibility to identify, monitor and take action to prevent future systemic risks,” Bair said. “A systemic risk council would provide an appropriate system of checks and balances to insure that the decisions reflect both public and private stake holders.”
She also said she supports the establishment of a new government agency whose purpose would be to help protect consumers and better regulate loans.
“I think we can do better, so I support the establishment of a new agency whose sole job would be to set effective common sense standards and protections for consumers,” Bair said. “And I think such an agency would help things and the more responsible providers for consumer credit by helping to get the bad loans out of the system.”
Bair concluded her lecture by reaffirming her Kansas roots.
“I’m a republican, but I’ll always be a republican from Kansas. So I believe as Bob Dole believes that when it’s all over, it’s not who you were, it’s whether you made a difference,” Bair said. “I believe the government has a role to play in setting basic rules for protecting the common good.
“I believe that government is a doer and can make a difference especially in the face of adversity and unfairness. So my hope is that Alf Landon was right that there are some intelligent people in Washington even though there are more of them in Kansas.”
Charles Reagan, deputy to the president, chief of staff and chairman of the lecture series, said he thought Bair’s message should be heard by government officials.
“I think that she’s on the right track in that other people in Washington should listen and not be swayed by the lobbyists of big banks — that’s who her opponent is. I mean the people in congress that are opposing to her views don’t have better views, they’ve just been more effected by lobbyists. That’s my opinion,” he said.
Reagan said he would have liked to see more students, as he estimated only about 150 students attended.
“They would have had a chance to hear an absolutely brilliant analysis by a woman who’s considered by CNN, to be in the top ten of power women in Washington. And by Forbes Magazine to be the second most powerful women in the world after Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor,” Reagan said. “That’s pretty high praise from two independent sources.”
Eric Higgins, professor and head of the department of finance, said he encouraged students within his department to attend the lecture.
“I think it’s very relevant for sure and especially in finance we want to make sure that students are aware of what’s going on,” Higgins said. “This is vitally important to the future of the country really of our financial system. So I think it’s very important for students to get out and whether or not your in business you need to get out and understand what’s going on, because it’s going to effect your guys’ future.”
Ryan Wilkerson, junior in finance and accounting, said he felt the lecture was insightful to students in the College of Business Administration.
“She did a great job of addressing current financial crisis ... and understanding what our economy is right now.”
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