Thursday, October 23, 2008

Greenspan's testimony shows he's part of problem

If you want to see the kind of dishonesty and lack of integrity that has put this nation's financial markets into a dive, then watch the testimony in a few minutes of former Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan before Congress.

He rightly should be blamed for the losses in your retirement savings and more.

CNBC's Mark Haines -- the most honest person on Wall Street -- called Greenspan's testimony a crock this morning after reading a copy of his prepared remarks. CNN's Anderson Cooper360 has named Greenspan ones of the culprits of the downturn.

Haines is right, again. Greenspan allowed what is called derivatives, a vehicle for the selling of wrongly made bad loans on Main Street to Wall Street financial firms for a big profit based on rising property values. When values plummeted, so did the collateral of the loans, turning them bad. And Greenspan's House of Cards collapsed.

Where was the nation's news media to serve as a watchdog for us concerning Greenspan's bad decision-making?

Most didn't know any better. Others worshipped at his feet. And it did not hurt Greenspan that he married a member of the Inside-the-Beltway liberal media elite, Andrea Mitchell of NBC News. Report something negative on Greenspan, and you don't get invited to their next dinner party or those of their friends.


If you can stomach it, I'll post again on what Greenspan says in person and hopefully nasty questioning and statements by members of Congress.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Greenspan "allowed" them? So Congress does, what exactly? Greenspan didn't write the CFMA.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/10/26/60minutes/main4546199.shtml