Now, months deep into the most severe financial crisis in modern history, the regulators are announcing new rules for the financial services industry. In speeches and press releases, the Fed, SEC and FHA are heralding new oversight of many aspects of the mortgage business, from lenders to ratings firms to Wall Street firms.

I’m from a rural, ranching background and this seems very much like closing the corral gate after the horses have bolted.

The financial community hates regulation and you will frequently hear them say that the market is the best regulator because bad deals and over-zealous operators are eventually unmasked and dealt with.

Unfortunately, this Utopian view ignores one of the basic motivators of human behavior: greed. When greed is unrestrained, you find the market flush with debt instruments and bundled investments so complicated no reasonable person could understand them.

When greed is unrestrained, gullible consumers sign mortgage papers without understanding much more than they can buy the McMansion they always wanted.

No one wants financial innovation stymied by heavy-handed regulation, but the people who are supposed to be watching out for the economy and the consumer failed in their jobs - and that includes all those and others who are belatedly beating the drum of “trust us, we’re from the government and here to help you.”