Greenspan displaying his out-of-touch views on financial compensation. He clearly does not understand, or is not willing to admit the moral hazards created by he and Bernanke’s policies. The interviewer hints at the dangers, but is unwilling to call Greenspan out.

Interviewer: Haven’t we created a risk-free system, where whether you do well or not, you walk away rich? If that’s the case, shouldn’t there be some limits imposed? [he was discussing failed banks such as Lehman, Merrill, etc.]

Greenspan: “… compensation should be relative to a company’s peers… It’s not as though we’re using taxpayer funds”.

He chooses to ignore countless ways the finance industry receives special treatment. Low interest rates are designed to benefit banks first, not people. They cause inflation, lead to negative saving rates, and cause wild fluctuations in borrowing costs. This “allows” people to refinance when rates are low (if they can) which conveniently provides more fees for banks.

More:

Greenspan was NOT Free Market
Is Curbing Bank Pay Capitalist or Socialist?