Provide peer review:

I agree that the Federal Reserve can be to powerful. Many economists feel that Alan Greenspan who was chairman of the Federal Reserve from 1987 to 2006 was a major contributor to the Great Recession of 2008. He believed that the financial markets "are naturally efficient and in no need of regulation" (Harvey, 2012). Greenspan was quoted in 2004 "Research within the Federal Reserve suggests that homeowners might have saved tens of thousands of dollars had they held adjustable-rate mortgages rather than fixed-rate mortgages during the past decade" essentially endorsing adjustable-rate mortgages. Two years later the Federal Reserve started rate hikes and eventually drove homeowners into default. For years economist tried to warn the government and the Federal Reserve that collateralized debt obligations (CDO), in other words risky mortgages for investors, needed to be investigated. With low rates and no federal oversight, the lending practices were abused. In front of Congress, he eventually admitted that he had "made a mistake in presuming" that financial firms could regulate themselves. I think that the Federal Reserve Chairman, while so successful they were appointed to such a powerful position need to also swear that the will try allow their personal opinions drive their decisions. Especially when their decisions can have lasting impacts on not just our own economy of economies of other nations.