Many blame Alan Greenspan for the plethora of subprime mortgages that the U.S. economy is weighted under today, and he readily admits in his autobiography, The Age of Turbulence, that he knew subprime lending was occurring and that he let it happen. Why? To super-paraphrase his remarks on the subject, Greenspan believed that it was better to let the overheated lending system make 7 bad loans while 93 good ones went through. Protection of property rights and property value is one of the greatest incentives for Americans to be involved in U.S. politics and policy, and is core to the continued success of this country. The more citizens who have property to be concerned with, the greater their combined voice in elections, tax issues, policy domestically and abroad, and neighborhood matters, such as whether a government-owned property in the area will be used for a school or a prison. Greenspan writes, "Of the nearly $3 trillion of home mortgage originations in 2006, a fifth were subprime and another fifth were so-called Alt-A mortgages...I was aware that the loosening of mortgage credit terms for subprime borrowers increased financial risk..." "But I believed then, as now, that the benefits of broadened home ownership are worth the risk. Protection of property rights, so critical to a market economy, requires a critical mass of owners to sustain political support." He adds that great good has been gained too from growing minority ownership of property in the past decade. "By 2006, nearly 69 percent of households owned their own home, up from 64 percent in 1994 and 44 percent in 1940. The gains were especially dramatic among Hispanics and (African-Americans), as increasing affluence as well as government encouragement of subprime mortgage programs enabled many members of minority groups to become first-time home buyers. "This expansion of ownership gave more people a stake in the future of our country and boded well for the cohesion of the nation, I thought... "Even in a digital age, brick and mortar--or plywood and Sheetrock--are what stabilize us...." Also see The Greenspan Chronicles II: The Net Good Gained From Subprime Mortgages, Alan Out-Takes: More Notes From The Greenspan Dinner and Valentine’s Dinner With Alan Greenspan: Nuclear! Plus, Iraq And ‘Are We In A Recession?’. –Nissa Darbonne, Executive Editor, Oil and Gas Investor, A&D Watch, Oil and Gas Investor This Week, www.OilandGasInvestor.com; ndarbonne@hartenergy.com