Are those who impose regulations that create generous incentives for these to be gamed entirely without blame?

Sir, Brooke Master while discussing regulations for carmakers and banks refers to “mis-sold mortgage-backed securities and payment protection insurance” “The diesel scandal echoes bankers’ woes” July 27.

The regulators, with Basel II of 2004, allowed banks to leverage 62.5 times if a AAA to AA rating was present… while for instance only 12.5 times if there was no credit rating. That temptation set up the banks to, sooner or later fall into a trap. Are these regulators innocent?

In the same vein carbon emission controllers set up procedures that evidently could easily be cheated on. Are these controllers also entirely innocent?

I ask these questions because from what we have seen neither regulators nor controllers have been demoted, on the contrary, at least with respect to banks many, like Mario Draghi and Stefan Ingves, have been promoted.

Had the credit-rated-risk-weighted capital requirements for banks that distort the allocation of credit to the real economy not been introduced, the 2007/08 crisis and the ensuing slow growth would not have happened.

If a country decides to impose a 1.000% tax on liquor, does it not have any responsibility in that its citizens (including its legislators and tax collectors) start smuggling liquor?

@PerKurowski