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At the risk of some oversimplification, if the skill composition of our work force meshed fully with the needs of our increasingly complex capital-stock, wage-skill differentials would be stable.

Alan Greenspan

History cannot be reduced to a set of statistics and probabilities.
ALAN GREENSPAN

History Probability Reduce Set Statics
Derivatives have permitted the unbundling of financial risks.
ALAN GREENSPAN

Derivative Financial Permit Risk Unbound
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
Skilled shortages in America exist because we are shielding our skilled labor force from world competition. [Visa quotas] have been substituted for the wage pricing mechanism.
ALAN GREENSPAN

Competition Country Force Shied Shortage Skill
Fiat money in extremis is accepted by nobody. Gold is always accepted.
ALAN GREENSPAN

Accept Extremis Fiat God Money Nobody
Stripped of its academic jargon, the welfare state is nothing more than a mechanism by which governments confiscate the wealth of the productive members of a society to support a wide variety of welfare schemes.
ALAN GREENSPAN

Academic Government Jargon Mechanism More Nothing Scheme State Strip Support Welfare
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
Well, you probably will always believe there should be laws against fraud, and I don’t think there is any need for a law against fraud.
ALAN GREENSPAN

Against Always Any Believe Fraud Law Need Probably
What we have found over the years in the marketplace is that derivatives have been an extraordinarily useful vehicle to transfer risk from those who shouldn’t be taking it to those who are willing to and are capable of doing so.
ALAN GREENSPAN

Derivative Extraordinary Marketplace Over Useful Year
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
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
I’ve been in and out of Wall Street since 1949, and I’ve never seen the type of animosity between government and Wall Street. And I’m not sure where it comes from, but I suspect it’s got to do with a general schism in this society which is really becoming ever more destructive.
ALAN GREENSPAN

Animosity Between Descriptive E Even Government More Out Since Street Suspect Type Wall
Senator, if I seem clear to you, you must have misunderstood me’.
ALAN GREENSPAN

Clear Misunderstood Seem Senator
The recent period has been marked by a transformation to an economy that is more productive as competitive forces become increasingly intense and new technologies raise the efficiency of our businesses…
ALAN GREENSPAN

Business Competitive Economy Force Mark More Period Productive Recent Technology Transformation
Whatever you tax you get less of.
ALAN GREENSPAN

Economy Less Tax
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
Institutions of the newer participants in global finance had not been tested, until recently…recent crisis have underscored certain financial structure vulnerabilities that are not readily assuaged in the short run.
ALAN GREENSPAN

Crisis Finance Global Institution Neve Participant Recent Run Short Test Underscore Until
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
Cash is available and we should use that in larger amounts, as is necessary, to solve the problems of the stress of this.
ALAN GREENSPAN

Amount Available Cash Necessary Problem Should Solve Stress
In an economy that already has lost some momentum, one must remain alert to the possibility that greater caution and weakening asset values in financial markets could signal or precipitate an excessive softening in household and business spending.
ALAN GREENSPAN

Already Asset Business Caution Economy Great Lost Momentum Must Possibly Predictable Remain Spend Weakness
Such caution seems especially warranted with regard to the sharp rise in equity prices during the past two years. These gains have obviously raised questions of sustainability.
ALAN GREENSPAN

Caution During Especially Past Price Regard Rise Sharp Two Warranted Year
Crony capitalism is essentially a condition in which… public officials are giving favours to people in the private sector in payment of political favours.
ALAN GREENSPAN

Capitalism Condition Crony Essentially Favour Private Public
We ought to be opening up our borders to skilled labour from all parts of the world because [the state of the world is as follows: ].
ALAN GREENSPAN

Border Labour Open Ought Part Skill State Word World
The tub helps me relax, and it’s a great place to read.
ALAN GREENSPAN

Great Help Place Read Tub
I don’t think it’s possible for the Fed to end its easy-money policies in a trouble-free manner.
ALAN GREENSPAN

End Free Manner Money Policy Possible Think
Anything that we can do to raise personal savings is very much in the interest of this country.
ALAN GREENSPAN

Anything Country Interest Much Personal Raise Say
I was raising the question on the side with Governor Mullins of what would happen if the Treasury sold a little gold in this market.
ALAN GREENSPAN

Gold Governor Happen Little Market Question Raise Treasury

At the risk of some oversimplification, if the skill composition of our work force meshed fully with the needs of our increasingly complex capital-stock, wage-skill differentials would be stable.

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At the risk of some oversimplification, if the skill composition of our work force meshed fully with the needs of our increasingly complex capital-stock, wage-skill differentials would be stable.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

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