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The 2008 financial crisis pushed the global economy to the brink of collapse and exposed major flaws in the financial system. Four years later, most observers agree policymakers whiffed on addressing one of the major causes of the crisis: The difficulty of dealing with financial institutions so large they are considered -- by regulators, the Street and the firms themselves -- as 'too big to fail' (TBTF).

"The TBTF institutions that amplified and prolonged the recent financial crisis remain a hindrance to full economic recovery and to the very ideal of American capitalism," Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher wrote last week. "It is imperative that we end TBTF. In my view, downsizing the behemoths over time into institutions that can be prudently managed and regulated across borders is the only appropriate policy response."

Fisher's comments prefaced the Dallas Fed's annual report entitled Choosing the Road to Prosperity: Why We Must End Too

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Obama's health care reform represents the most sweeping overhaul of the current system and its fate is now in the hands of the nation's highest court.

The Supreme Court begins three days of oral arguments Monday on whether President Obama's health care reform law is constitutional. Twenty-six attorneys general have brought suit against the Affordable Care Act, Obama's signature and biggest legislative achievement.

The Affordable Care Act became law in March 2010 but the most controversial and contentious aspect of the law -- the individual mandate --does not go into effect until January 2014. The mandate requires that almost all adult Americans purchase health insurance. For those who opt out of coverage, a financial penalty or tax would be imposed. An estimated 50 million Americans are uninsured.

The individual mandate may be the main attraction in the legal showdown but the law's requirement that states comply with an expansion of Medicaid