Dangerously speculative? The severity of recessions has shown a downward trend since the 1970s. Milder downturns is largely attributable to better monetary policy.
If Greenspan should be nailed to the wall for anything, it is for stabbing social security in the back by cheerleading Bush's tax cuts and priming inflation by throwing the budget massively into deficit. These costs are going to be borne by US consumers for a long-time.
The problems Greenspan has engendered has everything to do with his personal ideological bent and nothing to do with the role the Fed plays in the national economy (in that capacity, he did his job excellently). As someone who enjoys eating, I'm glad his successor is keeping the economy from a liquidity crisis.
If Greenspan should be nailed to the wall for anything, it is for stabbing social security in the back by cheerleading Bush's tax cuts and priming inflation by throwing the budget massively into deficit. These costs are going to be borne by US consumers for a long-time.
The problems Greenspan has engendered has everything to do with his personal ideological bent and nothing to do with the role the Fed plays in the national economy (in that capacity, he did his job excellently). As someone who enjoys eating, I'm glad his successor is keeping the economy from a liquidity crisis.