Problém vznikl v důsledku Greenspanovy nechvalně proslulé zdráhavosti intervenovat na finančních trzích, i když dluhová páka dramaticky rostla a ceny aktiv budily dojem ztráty kontaktu s realitou.
It was Greenspan’s notorious reluctance to intervene in financial markets, even when leverage was growing dramatically and asset prices seemed to have lost touch with reality, that created the problem.