The Fed and the Credit Boom -- Greenspan

“History tells us it's far better to have people periodically going to  excess with its adverse consequences than to try to block it off  in the  beginning. These adverse periods are very painful but they're  inevitable if we choose to maintain a system in which people are free  to take risks, a necessary condition for maximum sustainable economic  growth. We have learned to move risk from the leveraged institutions  which are the major lenders in this country to those far more capable  of absorbing loss." -- WSJ 8/6/07