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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

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
Given our inevitably incomplete knowledge about key structural aspects of our ever-changing economy and the sometimes asymmetric costs or benefits of particular outcomes, a central bank.
ALAN GREENSPAN

Aspect Bank Change Economy Ever Give Incomplete Inevitably Knowledge Outcome Particular Sometimes Structural
Recent episodes in which Fed officials hinted at a shift toward higher interest rates have unleashed significant volatility in markets.
ALAN GREENSPAN

Episode Higher Interest Market Official Rate Recent Toward Unleash Volatility
If you think you understand what I am saying you do not understand what I am saying.
ALAN GREENSPAN

Say Think Understand
We may be in a rapidly evolving international financial system with all the bells and whistles of the so-called new economy. But the old-economy rules of prudence are as formidable as ever. We violate them at our own peril.
ALAN GREENSPAN

Bell Call Economy Evolve Financial International Rapid System Whistle
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
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

Asset Escalate Exuberance Irrational Unduly Value
In the absence of the gold standard, there is no way to protect savings from confiscation through inflation.
ALAN GREENSPAN

Absence Confiscation Good Inflation Protect Saving Standard
The companies could hire the educated workers they need. And those workers would compete with high-income people, driving more income equality.
ALAN GREENSPAN

Equally High Income People Drive Those Workers
Was sort of intellectually shocked. Contagion is the critical phenomenon which causes the thing to fall apart.
ALAN GREENSPAN

Apart Contagion Critical Fall Intellectual Phenomenon Shock Sort
I made a mistake in presuming that the self-interests of organisations, specifically banks and others, were such that they were best capable of protecting their own shareholders and their equity in the firms.
ALAN GREENSPAN

Bank Equity Especially Interest Mistake Organisation Presume Self Share
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
I cannot conceive of a politically feasible solution to this problem which will overdo cutting the deficit, where overdoing means harming the economy. It might be technically possible, but it is not realistic.
ALAN GREENSPAN

Cannot Conceive Cut Deficit Economy Harm Overdo Overdue Political Realistic Solution
When trust is lost, a nation’s ability to transact business is palpably undermined.
ALAN GREENSPAN

Ability Business Loss Nation Palpably Transact Trust Undermined
Regulation – which is based on force and fear – undermines the moral base of business dealings. It becomes cheaper to bribe a building inspector than to meet his standards of construction. Protection of the consumer by regulation is thus illusory.
ALAN GREENSPAN

Base Business Deal Fear Force Regulation Undermine
In the process we have created [a] privileged elite whose incomes are being supported at non-competitively high levels by immigration quotas on skilled professionals.
ALAN GREENSPAN

Competitively Immigration Income Level Process Profession Quota Support

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

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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

Related Topics

Popular Authors

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