Comrade Greenspan wants us to seize the economy's commanding heights. ...more

February 24, 2009

"Lords of Finance: The Bankers Who Broke the World," by Liaquat Ahamed (The Penguin Press, $33) ...more

January 25, 2009

This is in reference to Dick Ford's Jan. 13 letter "Democratic Recession." Like most Republicans he feels Democrats are always to blame for all of the ills of our country. Republicans insist the 2001 economic down turn was in progress and inherited by Bush from the Clinton administration. Even though Obama will inherit the current recession (maybe depression) from Bush, I'm sure you Republicans will find a way to blame it on the Democrats. ...more

January 18, 2009

Back in the early 1990s, when Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan was still considered "the Maestro," I asked him what he thought of the Reagan administration's economic program. I anticipated a discussion of 1980s tax and interest rate policy. That's not what I got. ...more

January 18, 2009

I saw a feature writer column in today's (Jan. 1) paper titled "2008 Democracy Recession." I thought our present recession was caused by the hatred of the Democrats for George W. Bush. Bush told Congress in 2002 that the lack of regulatory restraint on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac was a potential problem that would cause strong repercussions in the financial markets. Rep. Barney Frank and Sen. Charles Schumer brushed him off and paid no heed. Then in 2005, Alan Greenspan told Congress to enable these institutions to increase in size, "Would place the total financial system of the future at a substantial risk." Even Sen. McCain, in 2005, said on the Senate floor that these institutions needed to be reformed. However the Democrats' bias toward Bush resulted in no action. ...more

January 3, 2009

Some years back the very idea of transplanting a human heart seemed like science fiction. ...more

November 21, 2008

Badgered by lawmakers, former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan on Thursday denied the nation's economic crisis was his fault, but conceded the meltdown had revealed a flaw in a lifetime of economic thinking and left him in a "state of shocked disbelief." ...more

October 24, 2008

What's left in Uncle Sam's economic tool kit? The commitment of $700 billion didn't impress markets here and around the world. Neither did fresh interest rate cuts. Stocks plunged yet again on Thursday. ...more

October 9, 2008

If you sat down an infinite number of chimpanzees in front of an infinite number of typewriters for an infinite period of time along with Frances Earl, one of them would sooner or later accidently type a line that contained some sort of statement of fact or truth; but it wouldn't be Frances! She would still be pounding out line after line of partisan lies, distortions and slander. ...more

September 30, 2008

Paulson. Merrill Lynch. Lehman. Bernanke. Names are what investors start talking about at moments like this. Names, the faith is, will rescue Wall Street and, by extension, the U.S. economy. When a market crash is big enough, people are too panicked to think about the technicalities of reform. They think about the names they are losing and names who, they hope, will save the day. ...more

September 17, 2008