At the time Lehman’s failure was seen as the result of a deliberate decision, and a welcome one. On September 17, Democratic congressman Barney Frank declared in a hearing with Treasury officials that Monday, September 15, the day of Lehman’s failure, would long be celebrated as “Free Market Day.”33 Frank was joking. But others were not. As one of Paulson’s assistants remarked, September 15 felt like a “good day at the Treasury.” They had let markets do their work.
