anthony @ 19:00
by Stephen Lendman | Global Research | October 1, 2007
After retiring as the Federal Reserve’s second longest ever serving chairman, Alan Greenspan is now cashing in big late in life at age 81. He chaired the Fed’s Board of Governors from the time he was appointed in August, 1987 to when he stepped down January 31, 2006 amidst a hail of ill-deserved praise for his stewardship during good and perilous times. USA Today noted “the onetime jazz band musician went out on a high note.” The Wall Street Journal said “his economic legacy (rests on results) and seems secure.” The Washington Post cited his “nearly mythical status.”
Stanford Washington Research Group chief strategist Greg Valliere called him a “giant,” and Bob Woodward called him “Maestro” in his cloying hagiography (now priced $1.99 used on Alibris and $2.19 on Amazon) that was published in 2000 as the Greenspan-built house of cards was collapsing. The book was an adoring tribute to a man he called a symbol of American economic preeminence, who the Financial Times also praised as “An Activist Unafraid to Depart From the Rule” – by taking from the public and giving to the rich.
Others joined the chorus, too, lauding his steady, disciplined hand on the monetary steering wheel, his success keeping inflation and unemployment low, and his having represented the embodiment of prosperity in compiling a record of achievement his successor will be hard-pressed to match.
In 2004, William Greider in The Nation magazine had a different view. He’s the author of “Secrets of the Temple” on “how the Federal Reserve runs the country.” He wrote Greenspan “ranks among the most duplicitous figures to serve in modern American government (who used) his exalted status as economic wizard (to) regularly corrupt the political dialogue by sowing outrageously false impressions among gullible members of Congress and adoring financial reporters.”
[Read Original Article]
Are the good times gone for good?
By Steve Schifferes | Economics reporter, BBC News | Last Updated: Monday, 1 October 2007, 18:10 GMT 19:10 UK
One of the most influential figures in the world economy, former US central bank chairman Alan Greenspan, has warned that the good times are over for the world economy.
Mr Greenspan, who played a key role in managing the US economy as head of the Federal Reserve from 1986 to 2006, says that higher interest rates and higher inflation are more likely in the future, leading to slower economic growth and lower housing and share prices.In a wide-ranging interview with BBC economics editor Evan Davis, he warns that the UK cannot escape from global economic pressures.And he says that central bank governors, including the Bank of England’s Mervyn King, face a far more difficult task in managing the economy in turbulent times. [Read Original Article]
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