He also encouraged folks to go for the adjustable rate mortgages (ARM’s) a month before they where going to do their interest rate rise for the next 2 years. He knew what they where going to do and why they where going it, yet encourage people to go into ARM’s. Non of this is coming as a surprise to him, its just CYA. Mr. Bubbles helped created the stock market bubble of the 90’s and this current housing bubble. To be fair, he is not the only one to blame, as our congress critters where there threatening to take the FED’s power away in the 90’s after the irrational exuberance speech, which Greenspan quickly caved on. This is what happens when you institutionalize mediocrity and economics, it’s all political and not about doing the right thing for the long term betterment of the country.