Ha Ha Ha. From the NYT:
almost three years after stepping down as chairman of the Federal Reserve, a humbled [Alan] Greenspan admitted that he had put too much faith in the self-correcting power of free markets and had failed to anticipate the self-destructive power of wanton mortgage lending.
“Those of us who have looked to the self-interest of lending institutions to protect shareholders’ equity, myself included, are in a state of shocked disbelief,” he told the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
A few weeks ago when I declared us all socialists I never thought that would include Ayn Rand’s BFF. This crisis has put a stake through the heart of the free market myth. Greenspan, more than any one single person, is responsible for the mess we’re in. From the bursting of the Internet bubble in 2001 to 2004 he kept interest rates at historically low levels. Many economists believe he did this to create another bubble in housing, because he didn’t want his precious reputation to be tarnished (some people also believe he did this to help George Bush be reelected). So for all the ideological talk about the greatness of unregulated free markets in practice it looks like crony capitalism as usual. Hell, if a member of Ayn Rand’s collective, once in a position of power, can’t resist gaming the system for his own self-aggrandizement (or to help buddy win reelection) then how could a ear mark king like Ron Paul or a two-face like Bob Barr usher in the age of Objectivism. At the very heart of capitalism lies not an invisible hand but visible corruption. And someday we’ll put a stake through it.
From Marxism and Coca-Cola blog
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