Comments for Mr. Incompetent, the Economy Wrecker Alan Greenspan, Was Central to the Formation of the Campaign to Fix the Debt at http://www.cepr.net , comment 1 to 23 out of 20 comments http://www.cepr.net Wed, 22 May 2013 09:31:33 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.3 http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/mr-incompetent-the-economy-wrecker-alan-greenspan-was-central-to-the-formation-of-the-campaign-to-fix-the-debt#comment-20918 I liked many of the YouTube videos and articles put out this year by Richard Wolff, regardless of what label you put on him: http://rdwolff.com/articles/16 - Richard Karpinski Fri, 28 Dec 2012 10:16:22 +0100 http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/mr-incompetent-the-economy-wrecker-alan-greenspan-was-central-to-the-formation-of-the-campaign-to-fix-the-debt#comment-20915 There were two long term Greenspan skeptics in Alan Abelson of Barron's and Pierre Rinfret. As discussed in the Michael Hudson article referenced above, Rinfret found that Greenspan's consulting firm was going under as Greenspan got the Fed job. It is unsurprising that Greenspan did fairly well for his personal wealth by catering to Wall Street during his Fed tenure. After all he needed the money. Also I remember when Barrons' Abelson was astonished when Greenspan encouraged home buyers to get adjustable rate mortgages rather than fixed rates. Greenspan advocated this in a February 23, 2004 speech. " Indeed, recent research within the Federal Reserve suggests that many homeowners might have saved tens of thousands of dollars had they held adjustable-rate mortgages rather than fixed-rate mortgages during the past decade, though this would not have been the case, of course, had interest rates trended sharply upward." And Barrons has a March 3, 2008 article titled "That Bubble-Brained Fed Chief". Also see http://www.slate.com/articles/business/moneybox/2004/02/alan_greenspan_armed_and_dangerous.html And while Bernanke may have an academic professional reputation to attempt to salvage, that did not apply to Greenspan. One must not forget that Greenspan WAS competent in becoming wealthy after his got his quasi-government FED job. But the problem really lies in the slavish news media, businesses interests and government officials that promoted him as "the Maestro". Good thing there is a "Beat the Press". - John Wright Fri, 28 Dec 2012 08:50:32 +0100 http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/mr-incompetent-the-economy-wrecker-alan-greenspan-was-central-to-the-formation-of-the-campaign-to-fix-the-debt#comment-20898 Bernanke has long been known as an advocate for ignoring asset prices such that it does not seem fair to single out Greenspan on this point. More importantly, however, when it comes to the size of the government deficit in 2007 versus 2012, Dean wants us to believe that there is a large negative output gap in 2012 but no significant output gap on the positive side in 2007 that would render 2007's relatively small deficit unsustainably small. Which is it here? Either the economy was running well ahead of potential of 2007 in which case both Greenspan should be faulted for excessively easy monetary policy and the deficit was artificially small OR the economy was running near potential at that time in which case it was less than obvious at that time that monetary policy was not appropriate. - Brian Dell Thu, 27 Dec 2012 12:04:45 +0100 http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/mr-incompetent-the-economy-wrecker-alan-greenspan-was-central-to-the-formation-of-the-campaign-to-fix-the-debt#comment-20897 Greenspan has always been and still is a crook for hire. - Donald Isenman Thu, 27 Dec 2012 12:02:10 +0100 http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/mr-incompetent-the-economy-wrecker-alan-greenspan-was-central-to-the-formation-of-the-campaign-to-fix-the-debt#comment-20865 JDM: We were talking, at least I was, about SUSAN Rice, not Condi Rice. Don't confuse the two. - Chris Wed, 26 Dec 2012 06:23:57 +0100 http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/mr-incompetent-the-economy-wrecker-alan-greenspan-was-central-to-the-formation-of-the-campaign-to-fix-the-debt#comment-20864 Not only Greenspan? "BERNANKE: Well, I guess I don’t buy your premise. It’s a pretty unlikely possibility. We’ve never had a decline in house prices on a nationwide basis. So, what I think what is more likely is that house prices will slow, maybe stabilize, might slow consumption spending a bit. I don’t think it’s gonna drive the economy too far from its full employment path, though." "BERNANKE: I am more sanguine about derivatives than the position you have just suggested. I think, generally speaking, they are very valuable… With respect to their safety, derivatives, for the most part, are traded among very sophisticated financial institutions and individuals who have considerable incentive to understand them and to use them properly. The Federal Reserve’s responsibility is to make sure that the institutions it regulates have good systems and good procedures for ensuring that their derivatives portfolios are well-managed and do not create excessive risk in their institutions." - Postkey Wed, 26 Dec 2012 06:18:20 +0100 http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/mr-incompetent-the-economy-wrecker-alan-greenspan-was-central-to-the-formation-of-the-campaign-to-fix-the-debt#comment-20858 Isn't it a bit ironic that if he'd stuck to his Randian beliefs then much of this wouldn't have happened? It was only when he abandoned free market Randian ideals and began meddling with the economy from the Fed that this happened. - Ben Wed, 26 Dec 2012 05:37:20 +0100 http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/mr-incompetent-the-economy-wrecker-alan-greenspan-was-central-to-the-formation-of-the-campaign-to-fix-the-debt#comment-20854 A grim record of Greenspan's carnage: http://greenspansbodycount.blogspot.com - ted Wed, 26 Dec 2012 04:07:15 +0100 http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/mr-incompetent-the-economy-wrecker-alan-greenspan-was-central-to-the-formation-of-the-campaign-to-fix-the-debt#comment-20852 JDM, the "Rice" Chris and James were talking about is Susan Rice, not Condaleeza. - Bosco Wed, 26 Dec 2012 03:09:33 +0100 http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/mr-incompetent-the-economy-wrecker-alan-greenspan-was-central-to-the-formation-of-the-campaign-to-fix-the-debt#comment-20851 I think Matt Taibbi, molotov cocktail extraordinaire, at Rolling Stone had the better description for Mr Greenspan - not Mr Incompetent but the "One-in-billion [jerk] (Taibbi didn't call him a jerk, but this is a family blog so I won't use the actual phrase) "BAD POLITICAL SYSTEMS on their own don’t always make societies fail. Sometimes what’s required for a real social catastrophe is for one or two ingeniously obnoxious individuals to rise to a position of great power—get a one-in-a-billion *[jerk] in the wrong job and a merely unfair system of government suddenly turns into seventies Guatemala, the Serbian despotate, the modern United States. Former Federal Reserve chief Alan Greenspan is that one-in-a-billion [jerk] who made America the dissembling mess that it is today. - scottinnj Wed, 26 Dec 2012 02:08:49 +0100 http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/mr-incompetent-the-economy-wrecker-alan-greenspan-was-central-to-the-formation-of-the-campaign-to-fix-the-debt#comment-20850 [i]"Rice had to rely upon what the intelligence community gave her. She had no brief to question that."[/i] Come on. They gave her briefing papers entitled "Bin Laden determined to strike in the USA" about hijacking airplanes. She also had info about airplanes being used to ram buildings. From that she said she had no way to know that these things could happen. Now Greenspan is foolish in the ways and for the reasons you say. The sad part is that his reputation has [i]not[/i] "vanished in a puff of smoke". The proof of that is that he is still making news in campaigns like the one Dean is talking about, campaigns that look like they're working, to our detriment. - JDM Tue, 25 Dec 2012 22:05:17 +0100 http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/mr-incompetent-the-economy-wrecker-alan-greenspan-was-central-to-the-formation-of-the-campaign-to-fix-the-debt#comment-20848 Michael M Thomas: Seen this piece by Michael Hudson? Firing Alan Greenspan http://michael-hudson.com/2012/05/firing-alan-greenspan/ - Calgacus Tue, 25 Dec 2012 09:41:16 +0100 http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/mr-incompetent-the-economy-wrecker-alan-greenspan-was-central-to-the-formation-of-the-campaign-to-fix-the-debt#comment-20847 The situations of Rice and Greenspan are not at all alike. Rice had to rely upon what the intelligence community gave her. She had no brief to question that. But Greenspan was supposed to be the brains re the economy himself, so he, unlike she, has no excuses. - Chris Tue, 25 Dec 2012 08:31:27 +0100 http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/mr-incompetent-the-economy-wrecker-alan-greenspan-was-central-to-the-formation-of-the-campaign-to-fix-the-debt#comment-20846 Which he gave support for by publicly worrying that we might otherwise pay down the debt TOO QUICKLY. - ddoubleday Tue, 25 Dec 2012 06:43:20 +0100 http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/mr-incompetent-the-economy-wrecker-alan-greenspan-was-central-to-the-formation-of-the-campaign-to-fix-the-debt#comment-20845 I thought that A Greenspan stopped the 2005 Bush plan to deform SS! - cy klebs Tue, 25 Dec 2012 04:22:23 +0100 http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/mr-incompetent-the-economy-wrecker-alan-greenspan-was-central-to-the-formation-of-the-campaign-to-fix-the-debt#comment-20844 and how are people appointed to positions of power? basically to be someone in position of major power you have to be jewish - almost everyone at the fed - the most powerful organization that is not answerable to anyone - is jewish - even the replacements for the fed chairmen are always tribal. as Mancur Olson said small tribal groups will eventually take over open societies. - annunaki Tue, 25 Dec 2012 03:47:39 +0100 http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/mr-incompetent-the-economy-wrecker-alan-greenspan-was-central-to-the-formation-of-the-campaign-to-fix-the-debt#comment-20843 I a piece I wrote for Forbes.com back in the fall of '08, I described Greenspan as "a savant idiot," by which I meant a person who sounds wise but is in fact spewing idiocy - what in Shakespeare's day was called "claptrap to catch the groundlings." In other words, the reverse of "idiot savant". I had met Greenspan at a lunch back in the '70s, and after listening to him for twenty minutes, decided he was a complete charlatan mouthing total BS. Dean Baker's assessment is spot on. The crooks who run Wall Street are bad enough, but fakes like Greenspan have caused irreparably greater damage. Of course, you need an audience of dolts to put over this stuff. - Michael M Thomas Tue, 25 Dec 2012 03:34:45 +0100 http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/mr-incompetent-the-economy-wrecker-alan-greenspan-was-central-to-the-formation-of-the-campaign-to-fix-the-debt#comment-20842 Thanks for all the informative articles over the past year, Dean Baker. Always look forward to your latest. - Mary Bess Mon, 24 Dec 2012 22:47:08 +0100 http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/mr-incompetent-the-economy-wrecker-alan-greenspan-was-central-to-the-formation-of-the-campaign-to-fix-the-debt#comment-20841 The more powerful, the more influential you are, you can always fall back on the "Who could have known" line if you made any huge oversight. This doesn't work for someone who are working for a living though. However, Sen. Lindsey Graham eloquently said recently about Ms. Rice: "If she doesn't know, she SHOULD HAVE KNWON." She is woefully inept then (paraphrase). So, Greenspan SHOLD HAVE KNOWN??? - James Mon, 24 Dec 2012 22:02:41 +0100 http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/mr-incompetent-the-economy-wrecker-alan-greenspan-was-central-to-the-formation-of-the-campaign-to-fix-the-debt#comment-20840 My kingdom for a whistle. - Union Member Mon, 24 Dec 2012 17:45:43 +0100