For over a year, while the economic pundits have been using the mantrum: "The economic fundamentals are all good." I wondered whether we lived in the same economy or even space-time continuum. The adulation given to Greenspan and his book - the air time given to this man who constantly lies about his actions and their significance is just part of that picture. This, even though he admitted that he purposely spoke gibberish to congress, an action that is hugely irresponsible, given his position. He has yet to admit that he spoke and speaks gibberish even when he doesn't intend to.

So let me recommend a post on Crooks and Liars complete with video, audio.

Robert Kuttner, author of “The Squandering of America“, has been an advocate for “fair market” controls rather than the “free market” laissez-faire approach on The American Prospect for quite some time. At a book fair, he discusses his issues with former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan’s policies on market control:

What was so striking about that book [Greenspan’s The Age of Turbulence], was that half of it is a screed against the need for government regulation—you know, free markets are self-regulating—government doesn’t need to mess with free markets. They’ll correct themselves. And the other half of it is Greenspan’s memoir about all of the times he used the Federal Reserve to bail out failed bets by free markets. Now, how can you have it both ways? Well, if you rule the roost, you can have it any way you want. Fine. But there’s a hypocrisy and there’s a lack of intellectual consistency. Either free markets regulate themselves and the government really shouldn’t do anything—yes, Alan, the Fed is part of the government—or, if you think the markets run the risk of going haywire, you have a duty to regulate on the front end and not just bail them out on the back end. So, I think citizens can raise hell about this and elect people who believe in a managed form of capitalism rather than a predatory form of capitalism.

Kuttner’s article on The Solvency Crisis referenced in the video is here. And Bonddad at HuffPo sees the credit crisis continuing into 2008, as well as inflation of commodities, like oil (now $100/barrel) and gold.

As David Williams of Union1 puts it:

Finally! Someone other than the Scandinavian countries discussing sensible market controls on capitalism and the hypocrisy of laissez-faire economic policy. Of course, any mention of market controls here in the U.S. is derided as Socialism and immediately dismissed.

• greenspan,
• kuttner,
• economy