Alan Greenspan Quotes (51 quotes) | Quotes of famous people

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Famous Alan Greenspan Quotes

“I know you think you understand what you thought I said, but I'm not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant”

Alan Greenspan

Attributed to Greenspan by Rupert Cornwell, "Alan Greenspan: The buck starts here" http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/alan-greenspan-the-buck-starts-here-595789.html, The Independent, 27 April 2003, citing an unspecified Capitol Hill hearing. However, as Ralph Keyes notes in The Quote Verifier (2006, p. 233), "This popular tongue twister gets attributed to the obfuscator du jour." The earliest known print attribution is to Robert McCloskey, U.S. State Department spokesman, by Marvin Kalb, CBS reporter, in TV Guide, 31 March 1984, citing an unspecified press briefing during the Vietnam war. Earlier attributions include: "a high government official", Annual Report, North American Gas Tax Conference, Federation of Tax Administrators, 1967; Jerry Lewis (a sign pasted on the camera during a movie shoot), by Dick Kleiner, Hollywood Correspondent, Sumter Daily Item, Feb. 4, 1970; a sign on the desk of Suzanne Schroeder, collector of bureaucratic gobbledygook, AP wire story, Sarasota Herald-Tribune, July 3, 1973; Jack Nicklaus paraphrasing Richard Nixon, by Larry Dorman, The Palm Beach Post, Dec. 8, 1979; and "a Hollywood film director", by J.D. Douglas, The Third Way, 29 December 1977. Additionally, a thesis monograph by Michael David Katz, Georgia State University, 1973 is titled with the quote. On the back of the first Stealers Wheel album, a very similar statement attributed to band member Rod Coombes is found: "We know that you believe you understand what you think we said, but we are not sure you realize that what you heard is not what we meant." The album was released in 1972. See Richard Nixon: "Now, when individuals read the entire transcript of the [March] 21st [1973] meeting, or hear the entire tape, where we discussed all these options, they may reach different interpretations, but I know what I meant, and I know also what I did" Misattributed

“Rising interest rates have been advertised for so long and in so many places that anyone who has not appropriately hedged this position by now obviously is desirous of losing money.”

Alan Greenspan

Novermber 2004 in a speech in Frankfurt.
2000s

“An area in which more rather than less government involvement is needed, in my judgment, is the rooting out of fraud. It is the bane of any market system.”

Alan Greenspan

Source: 2000s, The Age of Turbulence (2008), Chapter Nineteen, "Globalization and Regulation", p. 375.

“We are going through a period with no precedent in American history.”

Alan Greenspan

quoted in "The Hand on the Lever" http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/07/21/the-hand-on-the-lever in The New Yorker (July 21, 2014) by Nicholas Lemann 2010s

“Capitalism is based on self-interest and self-esteem; it holds integrity and trustworthiness as cardinal virtues and makes them pay off in the marketplace, thus demanding that men survive by means of virtue, not vices. 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

The Assault on Integrity http://homepage.mac.com/tomdalekeever/greenspanintegrity.html 1963 1950–60s

“I was aware that the loosening of mortgage credit terms for subprime borrowers increased financial risk. But I believed then, as now, that the benefits of broadened home ownership are worth the risk.”

Alan Greenspan

September 2007 http://www.startribune.com/nation/12598281.html, Greenspan's memoir The Age of Turbulence: Adventures in the New World. 2000s

Alan Greenspan: Trending quotes

“I was intellectually limited until I met her.”

Alan Greenspan

Source: 2000s, The Age of Turbulence (2008), Chapter Two, "The Making of an Economist", p. 52.
Context: It did not go without notice that Ayn Rand stood beside me as I took the oath of office in the presence of President Ford in the Oval Office. Ayn Rand and I remained close until she died in 1982, and I'm grateful for the influence she had on my life. I was intellectually limited until I met her.

“It was the failure to properly price such risky assets that characterized the crisis.”

Alan Greenspan

"Epilogue", p. 512.
2000s, The Age of Turbulence (2008)
Context: Much of the securitization took the form of collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) with senior credit tranches certified by rating agencies as AAA. It was the failure to properly price such risky assets that characterized the crisis.

“If you get beyond the political rhetoric [and assembled a group to solve Social Security] it would take them 15 minutes. It would take them 15 minutes only because 10 minutes was used for pleasantries.”

Alan Greenspan

Speech to the Commercial Finance Association on October 26, 2006, as reported by the Associated Press ( "Finally, Greenspan can speak his mind" http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15428994/ns/business-us_business/t/finally-greenspan-can-speak-his-mind/). 2000s

Alan Greenspan Quotes

“From the development of the textile loom two centuries ago to today's Internet, output per hour has increased fifty fold.”

Alan Greenspan

Source: 2000s, The Age of Turbulence (2008), Chapter Twenty-Five, "The Delphic Future", p. 471.

“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.”

Alan Greenspan

Gold and Economic Freedom http://www.constitution.org/mon/greenspan_gold.htm 1966 1950–60s

“A decline in the national housing price level would need to be substantial to trigger a significant rise in foreclosures, because the vast majority of homeowners have built up substantial equity in their homes despite large mortgage-market financed withdrawals of home equity in recent years.”

Alan Greenspan

July 2005 http://www.startribune.com/nation/12598281.html, in testimony to the House Financial Services Committee. 2000s

“Since becoming a central banker, I have learned to mumble with great incoherence. If I seem unduly clear to you, you must have misunderstood what I said.”

Alan Greenspan

Speaking to a Senate Committee in 1987, as quoted in the Guardian Weekly, November 4, 2005.
1980s

“The resolution of our current account deficit and household debt burdens does not strike me as overly worrisome, but that is certainly not the case for our fiscal deficit, which, according to the Congressional Budget Office, will rise significantly as the baby boomers start to retire in 2008. Our fiscal prospects are, in my judgment, a significant obstacle to long-term stability because the budget deficit is not readily subject to correction by market forces that stabilize other imbalances.”

Alan Greenspan

March 10, 2005 http://www.federalreserve.gov/boarddocs/speeches/2005/20050310/default.htm. 2000s

“I really didn't get it until very late in 2005 and 2006.”

Alan Greenspan

Reuters (13 September 2007), " Greenspan says didn't see subprime storm brewing http://biz.yahoo.com/rb/070913/usa_economy_greenspan.html?.v=4". 2000s

“Well, first of all, the Federal Reserve is an independent agency, and that means, basically, that there is no other agency of government which can overrule actions that we take. So long as that is in place and there is no evidence that the administration or the Congress or anybody else is requesting that we do things other than what we think is the appropriate thing, then what the relationships are don't, frankly, matter. And I've had very good relationships with presidents.”

Alan Greenspan

The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer (18 September 2007), " Alan Greenspan Interview with Jim Lehrer http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/business-july-dec07-greenspan_09-18/". 2000s

“Those of us who have looked to the self-interest of lending institutions to protect shareholder's equity – myself especially – are in a state of shocked disbelief.”

Alan Greenspan

cited in: Quotes of 2008: 'We are in a state of shocked disbelief' http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/analysis-and-features/quotes-of-2008-we-are-in-a-state-of-shocked-disbelief-1220057.html, Jan 01, 2009. 2000s

“In general, corruption tends to exist whenever governments have favors to extend, or something to sell.”

Alan Greenspan

Source: 2000s, The Age of Turbulence (2008), Chapter Thirteen, "The Modes of Capitalism", p. 275.

“But how do we know when irrational exuberance has unduly escalated asset values, which then become subject to unexpected and prolonged contractions as they have in Japan over the past decade?”

Alan Greenspan

Francis Boyer Lecture of The American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, Washington, D.C., December 5, 1996 http://www.federalreserve.gov/boarddocs/speeches/1996/19961205.htm. 1990s

“Treasury Secretary Brady didn't like the Fed either. He and the president were friends and had a lot in common-both were wealthy, Yale educated patricians and members of Skull and Bones.”

Alan Greenspan

Source: 2000s, The Age of Turbulence (2008), Chapter Five, "Black Monday", p. 119.

“Intensive research in recent years into the sources of economic growth among both developing and developed nations generally point to a number of important factors: the state of knowledge and skill of a population; the degree of control over indigenous natural resources; the quality of a country's legal system, particularly a strong commitment to a rule of law and protection of property rights; and yes, the extent of a country's openness to trade with the rest of the world. For the United States, arguably the most important factor is the type of rule of law under which economic activity takes place. When asked abroad why the United States has become the most prosperous large economy in the world, I respond, with only mild exaggeration, that our forefathers wrote a constitution and set in motion a system of laws that protects individual rights, especially the right to own property. Nonetheless, the degree of state protection is sometimes in dispute. But by and large, secure property rights are almost universally accepted by Americans as a critical pillar of our economy. While the right of property in the abstract is generally uncontested in all societies embracing democratic market capitalism, different degrees of property protection do apparently foster different economic incentives and outcomes.”

Alan Greenspan

Alan Greenspan (2004) The critical role of education in the nation's economy.
2000s

“History has not dealt kindly with the aftermath of protracted periods of low risk premiums.”

Alan Greenspan

At a symposium sponsored by the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, Jackson Hole, Wyoming, August 26, 2005 http://www.federalreserve.gov/Boarddocs/Speeches/2005/20050826/default.htm. 2000s

“The need for values is inbred. Their content is not.”

Alan Greenspan

"Introduction" p. 17.
2000s, The Age of Turbulence (2008)

“American consumers might benefit if lenders provided greater mortgage product alternatives to the traditional fixed-rate mortgage.”

Alan Greenspan

February 2004 http://www.startribune.com/nation/12598281.html, in a speech praising the benefits of adjustable-rate mortgages. 2000s

“The Fabians laid the groundwork for modern social democracy, and their influence on the world would end up being at least as powerful as that of Marx.”

Alan Greenspan

Source: 2000s, The Age of Turbulence (2008), Chapter Twelve, "The Universals of Economic Growth", p. 265.

“That said, there can be little doubt that exceptionally low interest rates on ten-year Treasury notes, and hence on home mortgages, have been a major factor in the recent surge of homebuilding and home turnover, and especially in the steep climb in home prices. Although a 'bubble' in home prices for the nation as a whole does not appear likely, there do appear to be, at a minimum, signs of froth in some local markets where home prices seem to have risen to unsustainable levels.”

Alan Greenspan

Greenspan on June 9, 2005 http://www.federalreserve.gov/boarddocs/testimony/2005/200506092/default.htm. 2000s

“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

December 2007 http://www.startribune.com/nation/12598281.html, in an interview Sunday on ABC's This Week. Greenspan suggested the government should boost support to homeowners facing the prospect of losing their homes because their mortgages are resetting to higher interest rates. 2000s

“We are obviously all hurt by inflation. Everybody is hurt by inflation. If you really wanted to examine who percentage-wise is hurt the most in their incomes, it is the Wall Street brokers. I mean their incomes have gone down the most.”

Alan Greenspan

At a conference on inflation, Washington, D.C. (September 19, 1974). In Report of the Health, Education, and Welfare, Income Security, Social Services Conference on Inflation (1974), pp. 804–5.
1970s

“I came to a stark realization: chronic surpluses could be almost as destabilizing as chronic deficits.”

Alan Greenspan

Source: 2000s, The Age of Turbulence (2008), Chapter Ten, "Downturn", p. 218.

“We generally did not talk about the stock market very much at the Fed.”

Alan Greenspan

Source: 2000s, The Age of Turbulence (2008), Chapter Eight, "Irrational Exuberance", p. 165.

“Of course, shedding the debt burden would be a happy development for our country, but it would nevertheless pose a big dilemma for the Fed. Our primary lever of monetary policy was buying and selling treasury securities-Uncle Sam's IOU's. But as the debt was paid down, those securities would grow scarce, leaving the Fed in need of a new set of assets to effect monetary policy.”

Alan Greenspan

Source: 2000s, The Age of Turbulence (2008), Chapter Ten, "Downturn", p. 214.

“Over the years I have had the most contact with Lee Kuan Yew, most recently in 2006, and have always found him impressive, even though we do not always see eye to eye. I met him first when he was George Shultz's guest at the famous (or infamous, depending on your perspective) Bohemian Grove, a male only bonding retreat among the redwoods of California.”

Alan Greenspan

Source: 2000s, The Age of Turbulence (2008), Chapter Fifteen, "The Tigers and the Elephant", p. 312.

“[There are] signs of froth in some local markets where home prices seem to have risen to unsustainable levels.”

Alan Greenspan

July 2005 http://www.startribune.com/nation/12598281.html, in testimony to the House Financial Services Committee. 2000s

“Nor can private counterparties restrict supplies of gold, another commodity whose derivatives are often traded over-the-counter, where central banks stand ready to lease gold in increasing quantities should the price rise.”

Alan Greenspan

Testimony Before the Committee on Banking and Financial Services, U.S. House of Representatives July 24, 1998 http://www.federalreserve.gov/boarddocs/testimony/1998/19980724.htm. 1990s

“Once stock prices reach the point at which it is hard to value them by logical methodology, stocks will be bought as they were in the late 1920s not for investment but to be unloaded at a still higher price. The ensuing break could be disastrous because panic psychology cannot be summarily altered or reversed by easing money policies.”

Alan Greenspan

Greenspan in 1959. http://www.safehaven.com/article-171.htm. 1950–60s

“Globalization was exerting a dis-inflationary impact.”

Alan Greenspan

Source: 2000s, The Age of Turbulence (2008), Chapter Eleven, "The Nation Challenged", p. 228.

“The reason there is very little support for the gold standard is the consequences of those types of market adjustments are not considered to be appropriate in the 20th and 21st century. I am one of the rare people who have still some nostalgic view about the old gold standard, as you know, but I must tell you, I am in a very small minority among my colleagues on that issue.”

Alan Greenspan

Speaking to a Hearing before the U.S. House of Representatives' Committee on Financial Services in 7/22/1998 http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/publication-issue/?id=13650 1990s

“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. Yet deregulation set the stage for an enormous wave of creative destruction in the 1980s:…”

Alan Greenspan

Source: 2000s, The Age of Turbulence (2008), Chapter Three, "Economics Meets Politics", p. 72.

“I guess I should warn you, if I turn out to be particularly clear, you've probably misunderstood what I said.”

Alan Greenspan

1988 speech, as quoted in The New York Times, October 28, 2005.
Sometimes misquoted as: "If I have made myself clear, I've misspoken."
1980s

“Modern dynamic economies do not stay still long enough to allow for an accurate reading of their underlying structures.”

Alan Greenspan

Source: 2000s, The Age of Turbulence (2008), Chapter One, "City Kid", p. 36.

“Without calling the overall national issue a bubble, it's pretty clear that it's an unsustainable underlying pattern.”

Alan Greenspan

May 2005 http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/21/business/21fed.html?_r=1&oref=slogin, Greenspan said in a speech that he did not believe there was a national housing bubble similar to the bubble in the stock market. But he said there was "froth" in housing and he called the pace of housing price increases unsustainable. 2000s

“An almost hysterical antagonism toward the gold standard is one issue which unites statists of all persuasions. They seem to sense—perhaps more clearly and subtly than many consistent defenders of laissez-faire—that gold and economic freedom are inseparable, that the gold standard is an instrument of laissez-faire and that each implies and requires the other.”

Alan Greenspan

Gold and Economic Freedom http://www.constitution.org/mon/greenspan_gold.htm 1966 1950–60s

“When trust is lost, a nation's ability to transact business is palpably undermined.”

Alan Greenspan

Source: 2000s, The Age of Turbulence (2008), Chapter Twelve, "The Universals of Economic Growth", p. 256.

“We had a bubble in housing.”

Alan Greenspan

The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer (18 September 2007), " Alan Greenspan Interview with Jim Lehrer http://youtube.com/watch?v=yU4WjhijOMY". 2000s

“The probability of ten consecutive heads is 0.1 percent; thus, when you have millions of coin tossers, or investors, in the end there will be thousands of very successful practitioners of coin tossing, or stock picking.”

Alan Greenspan

Source: 2000s, The Age of Turbulence (2008), Chapter Twenty-Five, "The Delphic Future", p. 465.

“While local economies may experience significant price imbalances, a national severe price distortion seems most unlikely in the United States, given its size and diversity.”

Alan Greenspan

October 19, 2004 http://www.federalreserve.gov/boarddocs/speeches/2004/20041019/default.htm, playing down the threat of a national housing bubble. 2000s

“The world of antitrust is reminiscent of Alice’s Wonderland: everything seemingly is, yet apparently isn’t, simultaneously. It is a world in which competition is lauded as the basic axiom and guiding principle, yet "too much" competition is condemned as "cutthroat." It is a world in which actions designed to limit competition are branded as criminal when taken by businessmen, yet praised as "enlightened" when initiated by the government. It is a world in which the law is so vague that businessmen have no way of knowing whether specific actions will be declared illegal until they hear the judge’s verdict—after the fact.”

Alan Greenspan

"Antitrust", essay at the National Association of Business Economists (25 September 1961); published in Rand, Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal.
1950–60s

“I think Bill Clinton was the best Republican president we've had in a while.”

Alan Greenspan

As quoted in Meet The Press http://www.nbcnews.com/id/20941413/page/4#.VWY7_NJViko (23 September 2007). 2000s

“If you want a simple model for predicting the unemployment rate in the United States over the next few years, here it is: It will be what Greenspan wants it to be, plus or minus a random error reflecting the fact that he is not quite God.”

Alan Greenspan

Slate, 6 February 1997; as cited by Orrin Judd at brothersjuddblog http://www.brothersjudd.com/blog/archives/014839.html, 14 August 2004

“It hardly makes any difference who will be the next president. The world is governed by market forces.”

Alan Greenspan

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/jul/29/city-of-london-desperate-gamble-china-vulnerable-economy when asked by the Swiss newspaper Tages-Anzeiger who, in his view, would be the next president of the United States 2000s

“Thus, the willingness of workers in recent years to trade off smaller increases in wages for greater job security seems to be reasonably well documented.”

Alan Greenspan

Testimony Before the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, U.S. Senate February 26, 1997 https://www.federalreserve.gov/boarddocs/hh/1997/february/testimony.htm 1990s