Wednesday, April 02, 2008

Sachs on the Credit Crisis

Jeff says it's the Fed's fault:
To a large extent, the US crisis was actually made by the Fed....What was stunning was how the Fed, under Greenspan’s leadership, stood by as the credit boom gathered steam, barreling toward a subsequent crash. There were a few naysayers, but not many in the financial sector itself. Banks were too busy collecting fees on new loans, and paying their managers outlandish bonuses. At a crucial moment in 2005, while he was a governor but not yet Fed Chairman, Bernanke described the housing boom as reflecting a prudent and well-regulated financial system, not a dangerous bubble.