Greenspan: Repubs 'Deserved' to Lose Congress

was this the economic policy that he had alot of say in?

apparently he was suprised by the coming problem with mortgages.

some economist.

hmmm keep interest rates low for years upon years and suddenly people have alot of debt, raise the interest and suddenly debt becomes a problem, whodda thunk

Written by Greenspan in 1967 before he sold his soul to the State.

"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. If there were, the government would have to make its holding illegal, as was done in the case of gold. If everyone decided, for example, to convert all his bank deposits to silver or copper or any other good, and thereafter declined to accept checks as payment for goods, bank deposits would lose their purchasing power and government-created bank credit would be worthless as a claim on goods. The financial policy of the welfare state requires that there be no way for the owners of wealth to protect themselves.

"This is the shabby secret of the welfare statists' tirades against gold. Deficit spending is simply a scheme for the confiscation of wealth. Gold stands in the way of this insidious process. It stands as a protector of property rights. If one grasps this, one has no difficulty in understanding the statists' antagonism toward the gold standard." More

Lenders are not stupid. They made all these highly risky loans because they were guaranteed and/or insured by the government (read taxpayers.) WE are the real losers in all this.
Greenspan is correct when he said, "Republicans "deserved" to lose control of Congress in last year's election because in their willingness to approve spending measures that would benefit Republicans even at the cost of fiscal prudence, they "swapped principle for power."

...and Greenspan played along, leaving a fucking mess for Bernanke to try to clean up. Now he's playing the blame game, a critical phase to every project. Expect the same from Bush.

What a freaking hypocrite. He knew damn well all along where this was headed, he supported it! Only now has the balls to say anything about it. Too little, too late, Alan. Don't line his pockets, skip his book!

OK, balance the power with a Republican President.

they "swapped principle for power."

Posted by jestgettinalong

At least they started with some principals which is more than you can say for the gang there now.

"they" who?

Alan Greenspan, come on, even if you didn't see it coming, even if you kept the interest low for a tad too long, you are still the Maestro. You don't need to defend your title and look for blame elsewhere.

No one is perfect.

Retire in peace.

OK, balance the power with a Republican President.

Posted by takitez

I wouldn't mind that but make sure he has a minimum of brainpower and is not just another dumbass bible thumper.

apparently he was suprised by the coming problem with mortgages.

some economist.

Posted by truthhurts

sorry TH but the current mortgage problems can be put squarely on the shoulders of greedy lenders and greedy buyers. At a time when the 30-yr fixed rate was at one of the lowest points in 30 years, purchasers went for the adjustable loans that started at 3% and then went up two points per year for for three years thinking that they could flip the house in two years and make a bundle of money. Then the market slowed to a crawl and these morons can't sell the house and their rate is up to 9% and they can't make the payments and they are moaning and crying on TV. And all the while the lender is there to tell them how they can afford a bigger, more expensive house because their mortgage rate starts so low.

The Republicans deserved to lose their seats in Congress. So did most of the Democrats, who voted right along with them. That a Republican vote for self destructive international policy is somehow deemed different from a Democrat's vote for the same policy is astounding.

"Greenspan warns that if the Fed is to keep the inflation rate between 1 percent and 2 percent in coming years it may need to force interest rates into double digits."

This guys is getting crazy in his old age. If you think homeowners are having trouble now or credit card holders struggling with cards tied to the fed rate, could you imagine if the fed interest rate were to be pushed that high? This nation's economy would collapse. Greenspan is heavily responsible for the housing bust. This guy jacked up interest rates 12 times in row and killed homeowners.

"...putting political imperatives ahead of sound economic policies..."

Sure, Al, we all know that's what Dubya was (is?) all about. Now I wish someone would explain those political imperatives to me. We've fought (are fighting?) a gross, bloody atrocity of a war so the bush league can stay in power. But why, exactly? How are we better off by his (mis)using his power? And if we're not, WHO is? herm

At least they started with some principals which is more than you can say for the gang there now.

Posted by Sniper

ECONOMIC PRINCIPALS 1992-2007

-Democrat Principals:

Principal #1 "Deficits DO matter"
Principal #2 "Pay as you go"
Principal #3 "Take care of average Americans and demand corporate responsibility"
Principal $4 "Engage in oversight of waste and fraud in and out of government"
Principal #5 "Pay down the national debt"
Principal $6 "Cut taxes for average Americans first"

-NeoCon Principals:

Principal #1: "Deficits don't matter" - Dick Cheney
Principal #2 "Borrow and Spend"
Principal #3 "Handouts to wealthy corporate interests"
Principal #4 "Eliminate oversight of waste and fraud ini and out of government"
Principal $5 "Double the national debt"
Principal $6 "Shift spending priorities away from that which benefits average Americans"
Principal #6 "Cut taxes the most for those who have the most-twice"

This guy jacked up interest rates 12 times in row and killed homeowners.

Posted by utastaff

you are a moron...interest rates after the 1998-2004 crazy period, when homebuying was like a piranha eating frenzy, have not been any higher than 6 3/4 fixed 30yr. Pre your 12 rate hikes what were they, 1%? Why don't you talk about something you know?

Greenspan is correct when he said, "Republicans "deserved" to lose control of Congress in last year's election because in their willingness to approve spending measures that would benefit Republicans even at the cost of fiscal prudence, they "swapped principle for power."

Posted by jestgettinalong at 2007-09-15 10:09 AM

Love Him Or Hate Him,Pat Buchanan Said This When Bush Took Seat In His 1st Term. He Stated That Bush's Economic Policies Were Going To Lead America Into A Recession.

-Sarge

Pat Buchanan on Budget & Economy
2000 Reform Candidate for President

Outsourcing and imports let foreigners control US economy. (Sep 2004)
Return surplus to American people; end bipartisan pig-out'. (Oct 2000)
Break up OPEC instead of Microsoft. (Sep 2000)
Dow crash is based on OPEC conspiracy. (Mar 2000)
Lethal projectile-the trade deficit-aimed at US workers. (Dec 1999)
Pay down debt; reduce federal share of economy. (Nov 1999)
Interventionist in US economy; isolationist abroad. (Sep 1999)
Supports Balanced Budget Amendment & tax cuts. (Jun 1999)

issues2000.org

Sometimes He Is "WAY" Off Of The Top, But He Has The Economy Nailed, Just Like Ron Paul Does.

-Sarge

Greenspan might be a student of Nietzsche.

"If something is about to fall off a cliff, it deserves to be pushed."
-Friedrich Nietzsche

Thought of #8 Republican Economic Principals:

Principal #8 "Provide tax credits to corporations for outsourcing jobs"

#9 Republican Economic Principal:

Principal #9 "Allow massive waste and fraud in Iraq by political cronies to go unpunished and slience whistleblowers"

THE GREAT IRAQ SWINDLE

Examples from the article:

In perhaps the ultimate example of military capitalism, KBR reportedly ran convoys of empty trucks back and forth across the insurgent-laden desert, pointlessly risking the lives of soldiers and drivers so the company could charge the taxpayer for its phantom deliveries. Truckers for KBR, knowing full well that the trips were bullshit, derisively referred to their cargo as "sailboat fuel."

Because contractors were paid on cost-plus arrangements, they had a powerful incentive to spend to the hilt. The undisputed master of milking the system is KBR, the former Halliburton subsidiary so ubiquitous in Iraq that soldiers even encounter its customer-survey sheets in outhouses. The company has been exposed by whistle-blowers in numerous Senate hearings for everything from double-charging taxpayers for $617,000 worth of sodas to overcharging the government 600 percent for fuel shipments. When things went wrong, KBR simply scrapped expensive gear: The company dumped 50,000 pounds of nails in the desert because they were too short, and left the Army no choice but to set fire to a supply truck that had a flat tire. "They did not have the proper wrench to change the tire," an Iraq vet named Richard Murphy told investigators, "so the decision was made to torch the truck."

When Custer Battles was caught delivering broken trucks to the Army, a military official says the company told him, "We were only told we had to deliver the trucks. The contract doesn't say they had to work."

The Bush administration's lack of interest in recovering stolen funds is one of the great scandals of the war. The White House has failed to litigate a single case against a contractor under the False Claims Act and has not sued anybody for breach of contract. It even declined to join in a lawsuit filed by whistle-blowers who are accusing KBR of improper invoicing in Fallujah. "For all the Bush administration claims to do in the war against terrorism," Grayson said in congressional testimony, "it is a no-show in the war against war profiteers." In nearly five years of some of the worst graft and looting in American history, the administration has recovered less than $6 million.

THE GREAT IRAQ SWINDLE

Greenspan passing the buck.