4 - Alan Greenspan

...convinced deregulation & innovation in financial markets saved America

Full time Fed Chairman, Part time cheer leader of team deregulation & innovation.

Alan Greenspan (born March 6, 1926 in New York City) ex Fed Chairman 1987 - 2006
"Because of increased access to real-time information and, more arguably, extensive deregulation and innovation in financial and product markets, economic imbalances are more likely to be readily contained," 2002 April.

Greenspan convinced Congress that financial derivatives didn't need to be regulated.
Greenspan's criticisms of President Bush include his refusal to veto spending bills, sending the country into increasingly deep deficits, and for "putting political imperatives ahead of sound economic policies".[35] However, the Maestro did write in his latest book, "They swapped principle for power. They ended up with neither. They deserved to lose [the 2006 election].

But perhaps Greenspan's most important contribution has been as the policymaker who, through the power of his office, the force of his intellect and the cunning of his behind-the-scenes maneuvering, engineered the wholesale deregulation of the U.S. banking and financial system. In this respect, his most enduring legacy is an American economy that is not only more prone to assets bubbles, corporate scandal and financial crises, but robust enough to absorb such shocks while continuing to deliver long-term economic growth. By Steven PearlsteinFriday, January 20, 2006.

To be fair, Mr Greenspan played a dual role in the events leading to the current economic turmoil.

On one hand, his faults played a pivotal role in 2008 financial down fall of US economics. On the other hand, his ingenious approach in dealing with the economy during his tenure (a rather turbulent period) enabled us to see the longest post war expansion of the US economy. He used to be able to cast those magic spell over lawmakers in provide a more financial free markt.
It is, thus, all the more important to recognize that twenty-first century financial regulation is going to increasingly have to rely on private counterparty surveillance to achieve safety and soundness. There is no credible way to envision most government financial regulation being other than oversight of process. As the complexity of financial intermediation on a worldwide scale continues to increase, the conventional regulatory examination process will become progressively obsolescent--at least for the more complex banking systems. (emphasis added-w.e.)