Our Awful Situation

Archive for the ‘Alan Greenspan’ Category

Greenspan: no regrets

Posted by patriot on April 9th, 2008

Alan Greenspan says that he doesn’t regret a single decision, and that he’s being unjustly blamed for things he didn’t do. Um, ok…

For much of his 18 years atop the world’s most-influential economic institution, Greenspan was lionized for the economy’s performance. Now, he notes, he’s being second-guessed for it.

“I was praised for things I didn’t do,” Greenspan said during one of three interviews at his sun-drenched office in downtown Washington. “I am now being blamed for things that I didn’t do.”
…
Greenspan says he doesn’t regret a single decision. The criticisms that get under his skin are those from friends and former colleagues, many of them respected economists who backed his policies at the time but now say, in hindsight, that the calls were wrong. “I do take it seriously if my peers think I have misstated the facts,” he says. “But where’s the evidence? Too many people make accusations by assertion. I think it’s improper.”

Greenspan, on CNBC: U.S. in recession

Posted by Charlie Kilo on April 9th, 2008

Thank, Alan for the heads up. I wonder if he knows that people are already calling it the “Greenspan Recession”:

Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said on Tuesday the U.S. economy was in recession, and said it would be appropriate to tap public funds to resolve the mortgage-related crisis that has helped pull the economy under.  

In an interview with CNBC television in which he defended his chairmanship of the U.S. central bank against charges that his policy missteps had laid the groundwork for the current crisis, Greenspan said Fed decisions on his watch were rationally constructed based on evidence at the time.

“I have no regrets on any of the Federal Reserve policies that we initiated back then because I think they were very professionally done,” Greenspan said.

It is unfair to hold his Fed to task for the housing bubble or the current crisis in credit markets, because global market forces were at work to keep long-term interest rates low, not just Fed policies that brought short-term U.S. interest rates down to multi-decade lows, he said.

“Clearly, certain of our anticipations of what would happen as a consequence of those policies were off but there’s no way of avoiding that,” he said.

Translation: “its not my fault!”

John McCain and Alan Greespan: Chums

Posted by patriot on April 8th, 2008

Greenspan plans to vote for McCain, who wants Greenspan on his team to fix the economic problems we face. News flash for McCain: this guy is the main cause behind our economic problems!

Former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan is supporting John McCain’s White House bid, CNN has confirmed.

“I am a Republican and expect to vote for the Republican candidate, but I am not involved in politics,” Greenspan said in a statement issued to CNN by his office.
…
“I support John McCain, who I know very well and who I respect a lot,” he told El Pais.

McCain has previously indicated he will seek Greenspan’s council on economic issues should he win the presidency. At a campaign event in South Carolina last fall, the Arizona Republican even said he would take him “alive or dead.”

“If he’s alive or dead it doesn’t matter. If he’s dead, just prop him up and put some dark glasses on him like, like ‘Weekend at Bernie’s,”‘ McCain joked. “Let’s get the best minds in America together and fix this tax code.”

{ }

Search

Recent Posts

Sites of Interest

Archives

Categories