Greenspan: Blaming Me For Mortgage Mess Is "Quite Unfair"

GreenSPAM, and now Bernenke, have FLOODED the world with dollars. As a result, the dollar has crashed against most of the world's currencies. Just look at the change of the dollar against the Euro since 2001. The bottom line is that, of course, the big dogs on Wall Street were able to take all this "liquidity" and package it into the SubPrime disaster. Way to go Alan!!! Asleep at the switch....just like Cockroach Condi!!

At this point, the taxpayers of this country should seize all rights to his books and all of his wealth. Kind of like what happened to O.J.

Just another person who lives in a vacuum being given too much control. Don't they ever leave their little circles to see what's really going on? His comments that are intended to give himself credibility do just the opposite--this guy did not know what he was doing. How can you be an economist and not scope out the entire economy? What's with our government and their lack of data, anyway? Is it that they don't have the ability to gather it, or is it that they just don't give a crap? They're going to do what they want, regardless. And then guys like Greenspan come along and try to legitimize their wrongs with some elitist mumbo-jumbo.

Our biggest mistake has been to put any confidence in what goes on in Washington. Hopefully, it's not too late to take back what is ours--these people are not experts, they are con men.

Here's his speech of Feb 2004:
http://www.federalreserve.gov/boardDocs/speeches/2004/20040223/default.htm

"American consumers might benefit if lenders provided greater mortgage product alternatives to the traditional fixed-rate mortgage."
Right, how about some fancy neg am loans. And interest only.

"Fixed-rate mortgages seem unduly expensive to households in other countries"
Really? In W Europe (except the UK) most folks still stick to fixed, usually 20 yrs max. And if adjustable, the reset is every 5 yrs, not yearly.

"..recent research within the Federal Reserve suggests that many homeowners might have saved tens of thousands of dollars had they held adjustable-rate mortgages rather than fixed-rate mortgages during the past decade, though this would not have been the case, of course, had interest rates trended sharply upward."
Where else can they go from 1% but up...? Not to mention that from 1% to 2% means a 100 % increase. Pretty sharp, in my book.

I have a question about the Glass-Steagull act. I thought the overturning that act meant that banks could do business with investment banks and this is what allowed them to have fraudulent mortgages that they knew people couldn't afford but then sell those mortgages to investement banks who then sold them in pieces to other people who didn't realize they were investing in mortgages but then I read an article that said that actually isn't true and people don't really understand the Glass-Steagull act and what happened when it was overturned.

Does anyone know if overturning the Glass-Steagull act did lead to banks securitizing loans or is that inaccurate?

NO! We won't stop blaming you for what has happened to our economy. This has happened as a result of your plans and leadership at the Federal Reserve. You pushed for the adjustable rate mortgages when it was first introduced and continued to push for them almost up to the time they fell apart. Your attitude was the line that Mad Magazine famous ... "What - Me Worry", Yeah you and the schrub in the White House.

Let's just start calling him Doug Greenspan. Lassez faire advocates claim regulations prevent innovation and suppress the economy, that the market will punish or reward good decision making.

But who are the first ones to come to Washington asking for a handout? The same ones telling us NO to regulation.

Let them go broke. They took advantage of people, literally conning them into believing the bubble would last forever, going so far as to actively assist them in committing fraud by overstating their income and underreporting their liabilities.

Nothing sweeter than to give a bankruptcy judge the decision in what's a fair payment and a fair interest rate. Since none of these thieves will see the inside of a jail, the only justice they'll get is when they see judge after judge cutting the value of those mortgages in half or by two thirds.

Now that would be justice.

Greenspan and Feith, both historical revisionists. Responsible for two of this country's disasters this century and now they want to point the finger at others. Fuck 'em.

Alan, Alan, Alan.....we are only blaming you because you caused it....no other reason. What did you say Alan in 1966 about the Gold Standard and 'welfare statists'? Alan you talk through both sides of your mouth and screw over the little people big time.

ah, there's that old Repub value: Accountibility

"...would spur consumers to borrow against home values and spend more. "

And he was right. And the American consumer fell for it. Not only that, but greed won the day. You are poor, America. We are poor. Borrowing money instead of making real income to fuel and economy in collapse. And the politicians? Without their deficit spending, the bankrupting of Social Security, and Alan's adherence to debt = wealth, maybe we could have been better off.

Now, I see many posts blaming Americans for signing mortgages they could not afford. Guess what, idiots? The ultimate responsibility came down to the loan officer who has to approve that loan. Without that approval, and the lack of government rules and regulations, American wanna-be homeowners would not have been able to buy and be foreclosed upon.

Get some brains. Greenspan endorses debt as wealth. The politician endorse that plan. You and your children pay for their excesses. Why? Because you are serfs and peasants in a dead end. Lined up against the wall, waiting to be economically put out of your misery. Also, you are uneducated. Go to Wal-Mart to see the best and brightest America has.

Who didn't increase margin requirements before the stock market bubble?

Who lowered interest rates to 1% while refusing to regulate loan underwriting and touting exotic loan 'products' ?

Who refused to regulate derivatives even after the LTCM meltdown in 1998?

You Mr. Greenspan, that's WHO!

The man has no shame. He ought to keep a low profile and enjoy his retirement. Too bad he had a pressing need to stay in the limelight, get a lucrative book deal and go back to consulting. Jimmy Carter has set a much better example of how a retired high government official should behave.

Typhoid Mary: "Quit blaming me for typhoid!"

Alan, you take the blame or you publicly hand it to Bush and Cheney.

Which is it going to be?

"No!" There isn't another book deal in this answer. A press conference will do.

Alan, if you can't shutup at least do the honarble thing. Your hero Milton Freidman is calling. Something about "free markets" are dead just like him. Go join him soon, please.