Bush makes case for free-market’s role in crisis

Some critics have said that lax oversight by U.S. and other regulators failed to detect problems and respond with action that could have prevented the meltdown. The crisis began with the collapse of the U.S. housing market, which froze credit, then shook the broader financial sector and finally rippled overseas.

“History has shown that the greater threat to economic prosperity is not too little government involvement in the market, it is too much government involvement in the market,” he said. “It would a terrible mistake to allow a few months of crisis to undermine 60 years of success.”

Dan Price, Bush’s deputy national security adviser for international economic affairs, rejected suggestions of discord with other nations and said it was “grossly inaccurate” to suggest the U.S. was not taking a firm lead in reform.

“We are no less committed to fixing the problems, and addressing regulatory and other deficiencies, than any other leader,” he said.

While in New York, the president addressed a conference at the United Nations on religious tolerance and met privately with King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia.

The summit is just the first in a series intended to deal with the enormity of the economic meltdown, and the next meeting won’t be until after Bush leaves office on Jan. 20.

In the United States alone, the nation’s jobless ranks zoomed past 10 million last month, the most in a quarter-century, as 240,000 more people lost jobs. In the latest dire sign, American automakers say they are struggling to survive.

Obama is steering clear of the summit but will have a couple representatives available to meet with leaders on his behalf.

Besides the United States, the countries represented will be Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Britain, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea and Turkey. Those countries and the European Union make up the so-called G-20.

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