Paulson: Maybe the Street does need oversight

Hank Paulson says if we're going to bail out the Street, maybe "some type" of oversight is needed.

This story from the WSJ (link above) and others, have referred to a pending Treasury Dept. "blueprint" for regulatory "reform." Ironically, the blueprint project was, at its heart, an effort to streamline regulation, and was backed by the major financial services firms. To wit, the Financial Services Roundtable is using the Bear Stearns collapse to push for a single federal financial regulator, with "principles-based" rules. An intriguing idea, sure, but how would this have prevented banks and brokers from levering up on dodgy debt?

Meanwhile, at the Treasury, there may be a bit of blueprint backtracking going on.