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I love facts and figures. It’s like following a detective story, piecing together what’s going on in the economy.

Alan Greenspan

Need to consider not only the most likely future path for the economy but also the distribution of possible outcomes about that path.
ALAN GREENSPAN

Consider Distribution Economy Future Likely Outcome Path Possible
There’s an interesting question here because if the gold price broke in that context, the thermometer would not be just a measuring tool. It would basically affect the underlying psychology.
ALAN GREENSPAN

Context Mean Price Psychology Thermometer Underlying
People dont realize that we cannot forecast the future. What we can do is have probabilities of what causes what, but thats as far as we go. And Ive had a very successful career as a forecaster, starting in 1948 forward.
ALAN GREENSPAN

Cannot Cause Far Forecast Future Go People Realize Probability
Gold stands in the way of this insidious process. It stands as a protector of property rights.
ALAN GREENSPAN

Gold Insidious Process Properly Right Stand
Greenspan, who knew so much more than most, knew far less than most supposed.
ALAN GREENSPAN

Far Greenspan Knew Less More Most Suppose
I’m not denying that monopolies are terrible things, but I am denying that it is readily easy to resolve them through legislation of that nature.
ALAN GREENSPAN

Deny Monoply Nature Need Readily Resolve Terrible Thing
In the absence of the gold standard, there is no way to protect savings from confiscation through inflation. There is no safe store of value.
ALAN GREENSPAN

Absence Confiscation God Inflation Protect Save
Significantly opening up immigration to skilled workers solves two problems.
ALAN GREENSPAN

Immigration Open Problem Significant Skill Solve Work
If we are dealing with psychology, then the thermometers one uses to measure it have an effect.
ALAN GREENSPAN

Deal Effect Measure Psychology Thermometer Use
If I say something which you understand fully in this regard, I probably made a mistake.
ALAN GREENSPAN

Made Mistake Probably Regard Something Understand
Remember what we’re looking at. Gold is a currency. It is still, by all evidence, a premier currency, that no fiat currency, including the dollar, can match.
ALAN GREENSPAN

Currency Dollar Evidence Gold Look Premier Remember Still
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
A decline in the national housing price level would need to be substantial to trigger a significant rise in foreclosures, because the vast majority of homeowners have built up substantial equity in their homes despite large mortgage.
ALAN GREENSPAN

Bank Decline Foreclosure Housing Level National Need Significant Substantial Trigger
I am saddened that it is politically inconvenient to acknowledge what everyone knows: the Iraq war is largely about oil.
ALAN GREENSPAN

Acknowledge Country Inconvenient Large Saddened
The more flexible an economy, the greater its ability to self-correct in response to inevitable, often unanticipated, disturbances and thus to contain the size and consequences of cyclical imbalances.
ALAN GREENSPAN

Ability Correct Economy Flexible Greater Inevitable More Response Self Unanticipated
If I seem unduly clear to you, you must have misunderstood what I said.
ALAN GREENSPAN

Clear Misunderstood Must Said Seen Unduly

I love facts and figures. It’s like following a detective story, piecing together what’s going on in the economy.

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I love facts and figures. It’s like following a detective story, piecing together what’s going on in the economy.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

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