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xxviii FINANCIAL CRISIS INQUIRY COMMISSION REPORT

profound lapses in regulatory oversight, and near fatal flaws in our financial system.
We also found that a series of choices and actions led us toward a catastrophe for
which we were ill prepared. These are serious matters that must be addressed and
resolved to restore faith in our financial markets, to avoid the next crisis, and to re-
build a system of capital that provides the foundation for a new era of broadly
shared prosperity.
The greatest tragedy would be to accept the refrain that no one could have seen
this coming and thus nothing could have been done. If we accept this notion, it will
happen again.
This report should not be viewed as the end of the nation’s examination of this
crisis. There is still much to learn, much to investigate, and much to fix.
This is our collective responsibility. It falls to us to make different choices if we
want different results.