Many believe that the "Mark-to-Market" accounting rule is the cause of much of our current economic woes. Read about it here. This change was made in the fall of 2007 - about a year before the 2008 Presidential election, but after the Democrats took control of Congress in 2006.
"Banks may be on the hook for untold billions because the new rule makes it harder to avoid mark-to-market pricing of securities." – cfo.com, November 7, 2007
Read the following article titled "FAS 157 Could Cause Huge Write-offs" here and draw your own conclusions. (see quote above)
