The very nature of finance is that it cannot be profitable unless it is significantly leveraged... and as long as there is debt, there can be failure and contagion. Alan Greenspan More Quotes by Alan Greenspan More Quotes From Alan Greenspan 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 wall becoming government Given our inevitably incomplete knowledge about key structural aspects of our ever-changing economy and the sometimes asymmetric costs or benefits of particular outcomes, a central bank... need to consider not only the most likely future path for the economy but also the distribution of possible outcomes about that path. They then need to reach a judgment about the probabilities, costs, and benefits of the various possible outcomes under alternative choices for policy. Alan Greenspan incomplete-knowledge choices keys It is decidedly not true that "nice guys finish last," as that highly original American baseball philosopher, Leo Durocher, was alleged to have said. Alan Greenspan baseball success life An almost hysterical antagonism toward the gold standard is one issue which unites statists of all persuasions. They seem to sense... that gold and economic freedom are inseparable. Alan Greenspan issues freedom gold I have one other issue I'd like to throw on the table. I hesitate to do it, but let me tell you some of the issues that are involved here. If we are dealing with psychology, then the thermometers one uses to measure it have an effect. 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. 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 psychology issues interesting Even though some down payments are borrowed, it would take a large, and historically most unusual, fall in home prices to wipe out a significant part of home equity. Many of those who purchased their residence more than a year ago have equity buffers in their homes adequate to withstand any price decline other than a very deep one. Alan Greenspan home years fall Improvements in lending practices driven by information technology have enabled lenders to reach out to households with previously unrecognized borrowing capacities. Alan Greenspan information technology practice I believe that the general growth in large [financial] institutions have occurred in the context of an underlying structure of markets in which many of the larger risks are dramatically -- I should say, fully -- hedged. Alan Greenspan risk growth believe The use of a growing array of derivatives and the related application of more-sophisticated approaches to measuring and managing risk are key factors underpinning the greater resilience of our largest financial institutions... Derivatives have permitted the unbundling of financial risks. Alan Greenspan resilience risk keys 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: ] if we were to do that we would increase the supply of skilled workers that our schools have been unable to create and as a consequence of that we would lower the average wage of skills and reduce the degree of income inequality in this country. Alan Greenspan average country school Protectionism will do little to create jobs and if foreigners retaliate, we will surely lose jobs. Alan Greenspan political jobs philosophy Whatever you tax you get less of. Alan Greenspan taxes economics economy I am saddened that it is politically inconvenient to acknowledge what everyone knows: the Iraq war is largely about oil. Alan Greenspan oil iraq war I was a good amateur but only an average professional. I soon realized that there was a limit to how far I could rise in the music business, so I left the band and enrolled at New York University. Alan Greenspan business new-york success Anything that we can do to raise personal savings is very much in the interest of this country. Alan Greenspan political philosophy country History has not dealt kindly with the aftermath of protracted periods of low risk premiums. Alan Greenspan aftermath economy risk I'm not denying that monopolies are terrible things, but I am denying that it is readily easy to resolve them through legislation of that nature. Alan Greenspan legislation monopoly easy We need, in effect, to make the phantom 'lock-boxes' around the trust fund real. Alan Greenspan locks real needs 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 spurs house home Significantly opening up immigration to skilled workers solves two problems. The companies could hire the educated workers they need. And those workers would compete with high-income people, driving more income equality. Alan Greenspan opening-up two people
