From all that I've read, what we seem to be experiencing is the product of a legislative branch that were aware of the problems and potential damage, but chose not to do anything for political reasons. There's adequate evidence that both regulators and members of Congress "predicted" the financial failure recently experienced, but chose to do nothing even when the political power existed to do so. That was combined with an executive branch which was devious and surreptitious in purposefully weakening regulations and regulators by changing regulations where possible and reducing or reassigning the number of regulators. Like the lawmakers, there's adequate evidence that much of this was done at the behest of moneyed special interests.

It doesn't seem to me that you can do much about the executive branch except elect those you think can be trusted and encourage the transparency of an active media. Choosing the legislative/oversight branch presents a different problem. That branch of government seems to have become so politicized and polarized and inured with personal self-interest in recent years that they simply can't be trusted to place the public interest over their own.

That's an awful indictment of our democratic system and there doesn't appear to be any ready, quick answer to changing it. Fear of transparency of what Congress does doesn't seem to have worked, even in the dire financial crisis just experienced. Even though the resolution of the crisis was clearly in the public's best interest, too many lawmakers took the opportunity to tack on expensive amendments to serve themselves and special interests, or to satisfy the idealogical interests of their political leaders. They knew that there was no time or inclination to give any of those amendments and earmarks the debate and attention they so clearly needed. Members of Congress apparently feel immune to the press coverage of their distasteful and irresponsible actions. They clearly feel that the public either doesn't care or is too dumb to understand what they do.

A couple of possible solutions to this mess would be term limits for Congress and the elimination of the private financing of political campaigns and parties in favor of limited public financing.

I'm not holding my breath that the Congress will take action on either. For my part, all I can do is NEVER VOTE FOR AN INCUMBENT. I have done that for a few years now. Regardless of party, record, platform or personality, I simply vote for the non-incumbent with the hope that maybe they might go to Washington and act in the public interest.