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Productivity is notoriously difficult to predict.

Alan Greenspan

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
Those of us who have looked to the self-interest of lending institutions to protect shareholders’ equity are in a state of shocked disbelief.
ALAN GREENSPAN

Disbelief Institution Interest Lend Self Shareholder Shock
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
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
The only sustainable way to increase demand for vacant houses is to spur the formation of new households. Admitting more skilled immigrants, who tend to earn enough to buy homes, would accomplish that while paying other dividends to the U.S. economy.
ALAN GREENSPAN

Formation House Household Increase New Only Sustainable
They then need to reach a judgment about the probabilities, costs, and benefits of the various possible outcomes under alternative choices for policy.
ALAN GREENSPAN

Alternative Benefit Choice Judgement Policy Probability
I didn’t believe in absolutes, moral or otherwise. If I couldn’t prove a proposition with facts and figures, it was without merit.
ALAN GREENSPAN

Absolute Believe Fact Figure Moral Otherwise Proposition
They seem to sense… that gold and economic freedom are inseparable.
ALAN GREENSPAN

Economic Freedom Gold Inseparable See Sense
If one grasps this, one has no difficulty in understanding the statists’ antagonism toward the gold standard.
ALAN GREENSPAN

Antagonism Difficulty Gold Grasp Standard Statistic Understanding
An almost hysterical antagonism toward the gold standard is one issue which unites statists of all persuasions.
ALAN GREENSPAN

Almost Antagonism Gold Issue Persuasion Standard Towards Unite
Derivatives have permitted the unbundling of financial risks.
ALAN GREENSPAN

Derivative Financial Permit Risk Unbound
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
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
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
I’m a better economist than I was a sax player.
ALAN GREENSPAN

Better Economist Player
Gold, unlike all other commodities, is a currency…and the major thrust in the demand for gold is not for jewelry.
ALAN GREENSPAN

Commodity Currency Demand God Gold Jewelry Thrust Unlike

Productivity is notoriously difficult to predict.

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Productivity is notoriously difficult to predict.

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