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When trust is lost, a nation’s ability to transact business is palpably undermined.

Alan Greenspan

I must say, I never expected to see the day where I would be talking about anything other than reducing the debt, I’m running into the tyranny of zero, which is where you can’t reduce (the debt) any more
ALAN GREENSPAN

Anything Day Expect Must Reduce Say Talk
Credit-default swaps, I think, have serious problems associated with them.
ALAN GREENSPAN

Associate Credit Default Problem Serious Swap
I believe that the general growth in large [financial] institutions have occurred in the context of an underlying structure of markets in which many of the larger risks are dramatically — I should say, fully — hedged.
ALAN GREENSPAN

Belief Context Dramatical General Growth Institution Market Occur Risk Structure
Then fear hits, and it comes down very sharply. When I started to look at that.
ALAN GREENSPAN

Come Down Fear Hit Look Sharply Start That
Excessive optimism shows the seeds of its own reversal in the form of imbalances that tend to grow over time.
ALAN GREENSPAN

Excessive Grow Over Own Reversal Seed Show Time
Without the triggers, that tax cut is irreponsible fiscal policy. Eventually, I think that will be the consensus view.
ALAN GREENSPAN

Consensus Cut Fiscal Irresponsible Policy Tax Trigger View
I have long argued that paying down the national debt is beneficial for the economy.
ALAN GREENSPAN

Beneficial Debt Down Economy Long National Pay
But how do we know when irrational exuberance has unduly escalated asset values, which then become subject to unexpected and prolonged contractions as they have in Japan over the past decade?
ALAN GREENSPAN

Country Decade Escalate Irrational Past Subject
Fiat money in extremis is accepted by nobody. Gold is always accepted.
ALAN GREENSPAN

Accept Extremis Fiat God Money Nobody
If we are to remain preeminent in transforming knowledge into economic value, America’s system of higher education must remain the world’s leader in generating scientific and technological breakthrough, and in meeting the challenge to educate workers.
ALAN GREENSPAN

Economic Knowledge Preeminent Remain Transform Value
I have one other issue I’d like to throw on the table. I hesitate to do it, but let me tell you some of the issues that are involved here.
ALAN GREENSPAN

Hesitate Issue Other Some Table Throw
It is regrettably the way human nature functions, whether we like it or not. What successful economies do is keep it to a minimum.
ALAN GREENSPAN

Function Human Keep Minimum Nature Regrettably Successful
I’m a better economist than I was a sax player.
ALAN GREENSPAN

Better Economist Player
We will have more crises and none of them will look like this because no two crises have anything in common except human nature.
ALAN GREENSPAN

Anything Common Crise Human Like Look Nature
Some succeed for a time. But while there may occasionally be mis-configurations among market prices that allow abnormal returns, they do not persist.
ALAN GREENSPAN

Among Configuration Market Occasionally Price Priest Some Succeed
The number of mistakes I have made are just awesome. There is no number large enough to account for that.
ALAN GREENSPAN

Account Awesome Enough Large Made Mistake Number

When trust is lost, a nation’s ability to transact business is palpably undermined.

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When trust is lost, a nation’s ability to transact business is palpably undermined.

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