I'm not sure what the past practice of former Fed Chairmen was prior to Greenspan, but I can imagine that Greenspan wouldn't have appreciated Paul Volcker shooting his mouth off in ways that made his job more difficult. Greenspan is kind of the Rudy Guiliani of Wall Street, revered for keeping his cool in a crisis, but that doesn't make him a great economist or forecaster any more than it makes Rudy a good choice for President. Many people consider Greenspan's track record in reading the economy to be very average. At this point, after a long career, he should be writing a book, not making headlines.
