But there was the impression that public intervention=failure, which of course is the case in libertarianworld. Here in realworld, it may not be so. So, what about, "failure that leads to public intervention after all".

"Few can believe that suffering, especially by others, is in vain. - Galbraith"

It's similar to the situation one finds oneself in when asking "since a person like ME could assess Bush's war claims and analyze his statements and positions and the other available evidence to conclude that he was A LIAR, why couldn't those people in the Congress figure that out, too?"  "Who could have known he would lie to us?" they ask, and millions of us answer "Us, you d***wads!"

So now they say "No-one could have predicted this," and we answer "Well, actually, just for starters, there's Jerome in Paris," so I hope those words turn into tomatoes and go flying back at you, Greenspan.

Karen in Austin

'tis strange I should be old and neither wise nor valiant. From "The Maid's Tragedy" by Beaumont & Fletcher

" . . . on the very day that self-regulation not only demonstrates its helplessness in the face of mounting market panic but also the need for public intervention, in the form of . . . "

I hope this doesn't come too late to be helpful.