Should the government make laws to prevent the situation?

[Roy]

According to one cause of Mortgage Crisis might be the improper mortgage ads, should the U.S. government (ex: Congress, United states federal courts) legislate related laws to force advertisers to disclosure the intrinsic information (annual rate, yield…,etc. ) in ads in future?



p.s. I know it's a big issue, even related to ...freedom of expression maybe.

[Raphy_Liang]

I do think that financial ads need regulations.
For other example, drink or food ads are controlled already.
And it's a new issue for authorities to control financial ads after financial crisis that they notice it.

[Jamie_Tang]

I also believe that financial ads could use some regulations. They can have such an impact on people's lives, I believe that, like for the food ads, they should be required to show their important information for the protection of customers.

[Frank_Ho]

I think that it’s hard to regulate financial ads. Usually the regulations of ads prohibit harmful or untrue descriptions. However, for financial ads, there’s just “incomplete” information but still “real” information. Thus, it’s very difficult to decide which ads should be punished or regulated.

[camille_girard]

I also think government must control the ad especially in this kind of product and service. It is really important and I don't know why they did not act before the crisis. Also some associations as consumer association could play a significant role on providing information to the customers.

[Ian Chen]

It's not a general case for every government over the world set up laws to prevent the situation. In my opinion, it depend on market environment and current government concerns. Country with free market might face a critical issue in dealing the situation. According to some school of thought, there shouldn't be any interference in market by government.

[chiaying_lin]

In my opinion, it's quite necessary for governments to have some regulations on the mortgage ads. The governments don't really have to involve the mortgage market, instead, what they should do is making some basic rules for the companies and ads to play, for example, they can require that the interest rate should be clearly mentioned in every mortgage ad or something like that.

[MaoHung_Wang]

It's not a general case for every government over the world set up laws to prevent the situation. In my opinion, it depend on market environment and current government concerns. Country with free market might face a critical issue in dealing the situation. According to some school of thought, there shouldn't be any interference in market by government.

There is a premise for this, information is open to everyone and all people realize information exactly.
But now we are talking about someone try to twist the information.
So for my opinion, Yes. This helps health of the market.

[Jamie_Tang]

Some people say it is hard to regulate the financial ads, but either way just opening up the necessary information to the public is a step that can help many people get a clear knowledge of where they are putting their money. Just like we have the right to know what we eat, we have the right to know where our money is going, and feel more safe that our money is in good hands.

[Erin_Lo]

I think there should be some regulations to solve those mortgage crises. These regulations can force advertisers to disclosure intrinsic information. However, I don’t think regulations can reduce those problems to zero because most everyone tracing after profits and sometimes the more intrinsic information that consumers know, the less profits advertisers and producers can get from consumers. Therefore, if these regulations really exist, advertisers may try to find some ways to improperly disclosure information without being accused.

[Jamie_Tang]

Well, true, its impossible to eliminate the sneaky advertisers, but at least you can lower the number of false ads, which is at least a good start to help customers get more reliable information with some regulations.

[Lin_Chen]

I completely agree with Jamie (2nd post). Though, it seems like the US has the most strict regulations on advertisements while most other countries do not as much.

[Nemo_Kuo]

i think legislating laws to financial ads is necessary.
Because people whose works are not related to finance are easy to fall into financial trap.
Especially when advertises are attractive and seem to be safe.

[Sean_Huang]

When product/service provider and buyers have assymetrical information, different interest, and the product/service is of great impact (for example, credit card), I think regulations from the government is necessary.

[Lu_Song]

Although some people may argue that Govt. shouldn't intervene with business operations and consumer consumptions, I think it's absolutely necessary for a third party to regulate (doesn't have to be govt. but it can be). Even if consumer has the available resources to find out more information about their purchases, they shouldn't have to differentiate between lies and truths. They should just be presented with truths and determine which one best fit their need. Companies should remember that customers are number 1 and they shouldn't have to bend over backwards just to gain truthful information.

[Sponsored content]