That was your quote. You have the authority to prevent irresponsible lending practices that led to the subprime mortgage crisis. You were advised to do so by many others.
Now, our whole economy is paying its price. You feel that your ideology pushed you to make decisions that you wish you had not made?
Mr. Greenspan. Well, remember, though, [what an] ideology is, is a conceptual framework with the way people deal with reality. Everyone has one. You have to. To exist, you need an ideology.
The question is, whether it ... is accurate or not. What I am saying to you is, yes, I found a flaw, I don't know how significant or permanent it is, but I have been very distressed by that fact. But if I may, may I just finish an answer to the question----
Chairman Waxman. You found a flaw?
Mr. Greenspan. I found a flaw in the model that I perceived is the critical functioning structure that defines how the world works, so to speak.
Chairman Waxman. In other words, you found that your view of the world, your ideology, was not right, it was not working.
Mr. Greenspan. Precisely. That's precisely the reason I was shocked, because I had been going for 40 years or more with very considerable evidence that it was working exceptionally well.