Greenspan: “Shocked Disbelief”

As to the fantasy that banks could regulate themselves, that markets self-correct, that modern risk management enforced prudence: “The whole intellectual edifice, however, collapsed in the summer of last year.”

Greenspan spurned the Republican acolytes trying desperately to defend the faith and blame the crisis on the Community Reinvestment Act and the powerful lobby of poor people who forced powerless banks to do reckless things. Greenspan ... Full Story »

Posted by Tanya J. Maurer

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Fred Gatlin
3.1
by Fred Gatlin - Oct. 25, 2008

This is an interesting and important subject. That is not particularly well written. Emotion seems to get in the way.

Whoa the Greenspan comment is dumbfounding.

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Walter Cox
2.9
by Walter Cox - Oct. 26, 2008

It's an important story, one that has been covered in more detail by other reporters. Nevertheless an accurate and condensed piece that hits all the main points.

The one piece of good news that may come out of our current economic crisis is that the "true believers" in objectivist market fundamentalism will never again be able to sell their flawed ideology to a world that knows better. They will try, of course; just as the perveyors of racial hatred will never fully concede the errors of their ways despite our collective memory of Hitler's monstrous crimes.

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Chris Finnie
4.2
by Chris Finnie - Oct. 25, 2008

The most frightening part of the Greenspan testimony is that the man who influenced so much of the world's largest economy for so many years might actually be this gullible. Or this dishonest. I could have told him this years ago. If he's really just discovering it now, it's really scary we let him have that much power for that long.

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Randy Morrow
3.5
by Randy Morrow - Oct. 26, 2008

Greenspan falls on his sword? No. Admits mistakes were made? Sort of. Takes responsibility? No.

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Dwight Rousu
4.7
by Dwight Rousu - Oct. 26, 2008

The Greenspan testimony goes to the core in confirming the discredit due to the false gospel of the goodness of the free market.

The reply to Platts is especially on point.

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Tanya J. Maurer
4.3
by Tanya J. Maurer - Oct. 25, 2008
See Full Review » (10 answers)
William Hughes-Games
3.1
by William Hughes-Games - Oct. 26, 2008

A bit confusing for someone without a working knowledge of the jargon but quite provocative for someone who swims in the economic swamp.

Greenspan has to be one of the few honest men in the whole hirarchy. How many of them have you ever heard admitting any responsibility for their actions. His mistake was to underestimated individual greed. One must be very careful of over reacting when putting new regulations in place. Insisting that those that write the morgages keep the risk rather than passing it on would be a good start.

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