Thu, 10/23/2008 - 9:40am — lambert
Great quote from Mr. Andrea Mitchell:
Greenspan, who headed the nation's central bank for 18 1/2 years, says in testimony prepared for Congress that he and others who believed lending institutions would do a good job of protecting their shareholders are in a "state of shocked disbelief."
Yeah, nobody could have predicted.
But the check is in the mail, Alan! That trillion dollar one?
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we'll hear next that Obama's going to put him in Cabinet--
or that he's already been "advising" him all along.
Brilliant, if sickening catch, Lambert.
This is right up there with Condi's "No one ever imagined planes would be used as weapons (paraphrase)".
What a sad but telling admission.
Shorter Greenspan: Pay no attention to Brooksley Born
Way back in 1997, Greenspan, Rubin, and Summers all laughed, if not openly condemned, a woman who warned them that their hostility towards regulation would cost the economy severely.
Honestly, I believe that Greenspan just didn't give a fuck. His Wall Street pals would be taken care of no matter what so whatevs. Besides, at that time the media was worshiping him as some sort of financial Obama. And we all know they're never wrong.
It's consistent
He's a Randian. He believes that enlightened self-interest would have led bankers to think ahead.
...
AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAHAHAAHAAA!
Note who he thought would be protected
Shareholders, i.e. CEO stock options.
But he is/was actually right, they are protecting shareholders, only now with taxpayer money. Heads I win, tails you (little people) lose.
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Around these parts we call cucumber slices circle bites
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I'm not such a bad guy once you get to know me.
What does he mean by this?
"a flaw in the model that I perceived is the critical functioning structure that defines how the world works."
Does that mean "I, to whom you trusted your economic future, ignored the most obvious universal truths about human nature"? Or something different?
The problems were unknowable--at least to him and his ilk. That
others saw them only means those others had some kind of skewed world view. In his world view, these were unknowable, and, therefore, he is unblamable.
It's a once in a century situation--so don't blame the Fed Oracle.
Today, in addressing the mortgage defaults problems and foreclosures, he said the market should not be messed with, as that will mean higher interest rates for future borrowers. He seems to want to see further falls in value, then, somehow, all will return to as it was prior to the The Big $hit Pile became obvious to all....
It was frustrating listening to him. Very frustrating.
Oh, and don't over regulate!!! Never, ever do that!
It Worked In Theory, But Not In Practice
He used a model instead of how the world really works. His model was flawed.
"Do what you feel in your heart to be right -- for you'll be criticized anyway. You'll be damned if you do, and damned if you don't. " - Eleanor Roosevelt
It Doesn't Help
That Greenspan was turned into the Fed Oracle by so many, for so long. It's why he can, and will, get away with this revisionist history.
Bi-partisan-atcha.
But, we've always been at war with Eastasia...