Admittedly, none of this is an easy task which can be completed in a short space of time. The problems have built up over many years, and the path of reform before us is therefore correspondingly long and stony. The work by Adam Smith which I quoted from at the beginning of my speech is called The Wealth of Nations.
In one respect, however, we are fortunate. We have learned from historical experience with severe financial crises that if government intervention comes only at a point at which many or most financial institutions are insolvent or nearly so, the costs of restoring the system are greatly increased. This is not the situation we face today.