New York Times columnist Floyd Norris is one of my favorite business writers because of his insight and ability to describe business complexities - and why they matter. While not his absolute best, yesterday’s article “Greenspan Era Taught People to Gamble” nonetheless is well worth reading. Greenspan took his fascination with Ayn Rand and libertarian thought and changed the country with it. No longer would government provide reasonable investment returns for those seeking greater financial security (not to mention what Greenspan has done to Social Security - and tried to do). No longer would businesses “define” their relationship with retirees through fixed pensions. Instead all would be put at the mercy of the market. Nobody (really) voted for this. Depression-era retirees, and the risk adverse among us, who don’t trust the market were left without a way to combat inflation and gain modest returns. It is quite an accomplishment for Greenspan to drive so many of the unwilling into the stock market. But for those who invested their retirement money in tech stocks near the turn of the century (or even broad indexes), and those who believe that retirees and others ought to enjoy a level of security in their later, infirm years, it has been quite a disaster.
As the Chair of the U.S. Federal Reserve Board takes his final bow before retirement, I suspect a lot of people will not appreciate Alan Greenspan’s contribution to the American economy. This is unfortunate. I imagine a lot of them, including those working past Alan’s retirement age of 79 and those who will have to, would send their wishes to Alan if they knew more about his work.
Post a Comment