Greenspan has nothing but praise for hedge funds, which he describes as "a vibrant trillion-dollar industry dominated by U.S. firms." He claims that hedge funds help eliminate inefficiency in the markets. "They are essentially free of government regulation, and I hope they will remain so." He scoffs at proposals to regulate them, declaring, "Why do we wish to inhibit the pollinating bees of Wall Street?"
Remember how the accounting firms fudged the books for Enron and other corporations? Here's what Uncle Al had to say about that1:
...my original view was that taking accounting standards and moving them out of the private sector was really unnecessary because my view was always that accountants basically knew or had to know that the market value of their companies rested on the integrity of their operations and that, indeed, that signature that they put on an order form is where the net worth of the company comes from. And that, therefore, their self-interest is so strongly directed at making certain that their reputation was unimpeachable, that regulation by Government was utterly unnecessary and,indeed, most inappropriate. I was wrong.
1FEDERAL RESERVE'S SECOND MONETARY POLICY
REPORT FOR 2002, COMMITTEE ON
BANKING, HOUSING, AND URBAN AFFAIRS
UNITED STATES SENATE, JULY 16, 2002
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