Alan Greenspan Quotes

I don’t know where the stock market is going, but I will say this, that if it continues higher, this will do more to stimulate the economy than anything we’ve been talking about today or anything anybody else was talking about.
ALAN GREENSPAN

Continue Go Higher Market More Stock
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
In general, corruption tends to exist whenever governments have favors to extend, or something to sell.
ALAN GREENSPAN

Corruption Exist Extend Favor General Government Sell Something
The tub helps me relax, and it’s a great place to read.
ALAN GREENSPAN

Great Help Place Read Tub
I do not deny that many appear to have succeeded in a material way by cutting corners and by manipulating associates, both in their professional and in their personal lives.
ALAN GREENSPAN

Appear Corner Cut Deny Manipulate Material Succeeded
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
But material success is possible in this world and far more satisfying when it comes without exploiting others.
ALAN GREENSPAN

Come Exploit Material Other Possible Satisfy Success
It is this superlatively moral system that the welfare statists propose to improve upon by means of preventative law, snooping bureaucrats, and the chronic goad of fear.
ALAN GREENSPAN

Goad Growth Improve Mean Preventative Snoop Statics System
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
To succeed, you will soon learn, as I did, the importance of a solid foundation in the basics of education – literacy, both verbal and numerical, and communication skills.
ALAN GREENSPAN

Basic Communication Education Foundation Importance Learn Solid Soon Succeed
I was a fairly good amateur musician, and I was an average professional. But the one thing I saw was that the big band business was fading.
ALAN GREENSPAN

Amateur Average Band Big Fade Fairy Good Musician Professional
Significantly opening up immigration to skilled workers solves two problems.
ALAN GREENSPAN

Immigration Open Problem Significant Skill Solve Work
If you think you understand what I am saying you do not understand what I am saying.
ALAN GREENSPAN

Say Think Understand
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
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’m a plain soap kind of guy.
ALAN GREENSPAN

Guy Kind Plain Soap
I’m a better economist than I was a sax player.
ALAN GREENSPAN

Better Economist Player
It’s hard to overemphasize how important Ford’s deregulation was. True, most of the benefits took years to unfold-rail freight rates, for example hardly budged at first.
ALAN GREENSPAN

Benefit Deregulation Hard Important Look Overemphasize True Year
Amateurs want to be right. Professionals want to make money.
ALAN GREENSPAN

Amateur Money Professional Right
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
Political decisions are never random and will always lose out to innovative alternatives.
ALAN GREENSPAN

Alternative Decision Innovative Lose Political Random
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
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
Whatever you tax you get less of.
ALAN GREENSPAN

Economy Less Tax
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
These days, even out of office, I still read economic reports.
ALAN GREENSPAN

Day Economic Office Out Read Report
Now, I only play very occasionally, and in fact, more piano than clarinet or sax.
ALAN GREENSPAN

Clarinet Fact More Occasionally Pay Piano Sax

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