Bloomberg News wrote:
Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan criticized President George W. Bush for following an economic agenda driven by politics instead of sound policy, with little concern for future consequences.
Soon after Bush took office, Greenspan wrote in a new book, it became evident that the Treasury secretary and White House economists would play secondary roles in decisions on taxes and other issues.
[...]
Greenspan saved his harshest analysis for the current president. Soon after Bush took office in 2001, the president set about implementing a campaign promise to cut taxes, a policy Greenspan said he believed at the time wasn't well conceived.
"Little value was placed on rigorous economic policy debate or the weighing of long-term consequences," he wrote.
[...]
Greenspan also expressed disappointment in Bush's reluctance to antagonize then-House Speaker Dennis Hastert and other congressional Republicans by vetoing spending bills.
"There is a remedy for legislative excess," wrote Greenspan, "it's called a presidential veto."
[...]
Greenspan's frustration extended to Congress, which let spending get out of control, he said. "'Deficits don't matter,' to my chagrin, became part of the Republicans' rhetoric," he said. "The Republicans in Congress lost their way. They swapped principle for power. They ended up with neither. They deserved to lose."
Soon after Bush took office, Greenspan wrote in a new book, it became evident that the Treasury secretary and White House economists would play secondary roles in decisions on taxes and other issues.
[...]
Greenspan saved his harshest analysis for the current president. Soon after Bush took office in 2001, the president set about implementing a campaign promise to cut taxes, a policy Greenspan said he believed at the time wasn't well conceived.
"Little value was placed on rigorous economic policy debate or the weighing of long-term consequences," he wrote.
[...]
Greenspan also expressed disappointment in Bush's reluctance to antagonize then-House Speaker Dennis Hastert and other congressional Republicans by vetoing spending bills.
"There is a remedy for legislative excess," wrote Greenspan, "it's called a presidential veto."
[...]
Greenspan's frustration extended to Congress, which let spending get out of control, he said. "'Deficits don't matter,' to my chagrin, became part of the Republicans' rhetoric," he said. "The Republicans in Congress lost their way. They swapped principle for power. They ended up with neither. They deserved to lose."
The Chicago Tribune wrote:
Alan Greenspan, the former Federal Reserve chairman, said in an interview that the removal of Saddam Hussein had been "essential" to secure world oil supplies, a point he emphasized to the White House in private conversations before the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
[...]
"I was not saying that that's the administration's motive," Greenspan said Saturday. "I'm just saying that if somebody asked me, 'Are we fortunate in taking out Saddam?' I would say it was essential."
[...]
"I was not saying that that's the administration's motive," Greenspan said Saturday. "I'm just saying that if somebody asked me, 'Are we fortunate in taking out Saddam?' I would say it was essential."
Greenspan's positions remind me a little like that of Powell's, who supported the war with Iraq until leaving office and then began harshly criticizing the administration. But, unlike Powell, I don't see as much a sense of "I screwed up" in Greenspan but rather condemnation for Bush and the Republican congress.
But I'm not sure if Greenspan does have much to apologise for since I'm not much of an economist. I know that he has taken criticism for his actions (or inaction) in the late 90's during the Tech Boom and again in 2002 during the reccession. While I bet economists have varied opinions of him, his public image has been pretty sterling and perhaps he's concerned about that changing. Or not. But he's still taken in perhaps greater esteem than his successor so he must have some opinion on what people think of him.
Edited, Sep 17th 2007 10:14am by Jophiel
