The American Spectator

The Spectacle Blog

Writing in the WSJ, Alan Greenspan argues that the Fed did not cause the housing bubble because the historically low mortgage rates that triggered the boom were not a result of Fed rate cuts, but of changes in the global economy. It's worth noting that during the height of the housing boom, Greenspan denied that a national housing bubble was possible. Here's what he had to say at an October 19, 2004 speech at America's Community Banker's Annual Convention:

Overall, while local economies may experience significant speculative price imbalances, a national severe price distortion seems most unlikely in the United States, given its size and diversity.