A Mess the 45th President Will Inherit Taxpayers now stand behind derivatives clearinghouses.

A Mess the 45th President Will Inherit
Taxpayers now stand behind derivatives clearinghouses.   

May 23, 2012, 7:11 p.m. ET

President Obama's standard gripe is that the economy has performed so poorly during his term because of the financial crisis he inherited from George W. Bush. But this week it is Mr. Obama who has bequeathed to his successors a landmark in financial regulation. It is bound to haunt them, though not as much as it will haunt taxpayers.

J.P. Morgan's recent trading loss and the resulting Washington blather about tighter regulation have grabbed headlines. Little noticed is that on Tuesday Team Obama took its first formal steps toward putting taxpayers behind Wall Street derivatives trading-not behind banks that might ...

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