Over the years, Mr. Greenspan helped enable an ambitious American experiment in letting market forces run free. Now, the nation is confronting the consequences. Full Story »
Posted by Julian Friedland - via Publish2 (Business)
Apart from one rather significant flaw in the writing--not defining derivatives to the extent needed to inform those unfamiliar with financial instruments--this is an enlightened, enterprising and responsible article that essentially pins the current economic crisis on the Ayn Rand-inspired policies of Alan Greenspan. The writer correctly notes how Greenspan bullied Brooksley E. Born, commissioner and chairperson of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which proposed regulation to monitor derivatives. I encourage NewsTrust reviewers and readers to familiarize themselves with Born who, in the male-dominated early 1960s law school milieu, graduated from Stanford first in her class and served as president of the Stanford Law ... More »
Both Bill Clinton and George W. Bush encouraged Greenspan's libertarian unregulated policies because they predicted low inflation and high growth--a prescription for a market that has to be manipulated to live up to its dividends and derivatives.
“Greenspan told Brooksley that she essentially didn’t know what she was doing and she’d cause a financial crisis,” said Michael Greenberger, who was a senior ... More »
a real overview of mr. greenspan's philosophy and its impact on what's happening today with a lot of his own quotes and those of a number of other people who were uneasy over the last years with his views. it sounds as though his ideology was not flexible enough. the warning signs not mentioned here: the stock markets' rise as personal incomes dropped off, and how enron and a number of others' greed ran rampant didn't seem to effect mr. greenspan's p.o.v.. ,
Great overview of Alan Greenspan's relentless opposition to regulation of derivatives over the years, and how his views helped block all efforts at regulation, even as early as 1994. This article is one of many that indicate how the blame for the current mess cannot be solely laid at the feet of either the Republican Party or the Democrats. Legislators are most of the time clueless about the complexities of the financial markets, and the directions they take and approve seem much more an outcome of who has the most persuasive and aggressive voice.
“The sudden failure or abrupt withdrawal from trading of any of these large U.S. dealers could cause liquidity problems in the markets and could also pose risks to ... More »
To begin with, it is an ambitious effort to put the meltdown into perspective. Secondly, it is a courageous assessment of a person recently considered unassailable. Thirdly, it enlightened me. The absurdity of conservative accusations that warning calls came from "naive" people is breathtaking, considering that Greenspan, an Ayn Rand fan, thought that Wall Street gamblers could or would behave honorably while filling their pockets with unearned cash. Here's hoping this article is only one of the first to break down the doors of the financial monastery and reveal the rot within.
Excellent piece of investigative analysis on how history is likely to judge Greenspan's Legacy. We can only hope we'll learn the lesson this time, since we failed to after the Depression whence Milton Friedman's "Chicago boys" convinced us the problem was that we didn't deregulate enough! Greenspan's denial even now is reported--a chilling indicator of continuing widespread cognitive dissonance.
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