Greenspan Speaks: U.S. Economy in a Recession
Stumble It!
Digg It!
Tip It!
del.ico.us
FacebookAccording to former chairman of the Federal Reserve Alan Greenspan, the U.S. economy has descended into a recession. While we still haven’t seen a decline in our gross domestic product (GDP) for two consecutive quarters (this is the definition of a recession), Greenspan argued that:
“Consumers are beginning to shrink in, the automobile markets are beginning to contract, production is beginning to ease, and we are in the throes of recession.”
But, according to Greenspan, none of the current woes are his fault:
“I have no regrets on any of the Federal Reserve policies that we initiated back then, because I think they were very professionally done.”
He went on to argue that the economy won’t stabilize until the housing market recovers, and that federal intervention will be required to speed that process along, much like what happened during the resolution of the savings and loan crisis during the 1980s.
Source: USA Today
Published on April 10th, 2008 - 7 Comments
Filed under: Economy
email this article
- bookmark it
About the author: Nickel is the founder and editor-in-chief of this site. He's a thirty-something family man who has been writing about personal finance since 2005, and guess what? He's on Twitter!
Related articles...
» U.S. Economy Officially in Recession» Bernanke Tabbed as Greenspan’s Replacement
» Words of Wisdom from Alan Greenspan
» When Will the Recession End?
» Recession-Proof Careers
» Best Jobs in a Bad Economy: Recession-Proof Careers
» Unemployment Jumps, Worst Month in 34 Years
» The Recession is… Over?
Was this article useful? Please sign up to receive our content via e-mail:
Great deals...
Readers’ choice...
Recent articles...
- Effect of Foreclosure, Short Sale, and Bankruptcy on Your Credit Score
- DIY Garage Kayak Racks: Fast, Frugal, and Effective
- Lending Club $25 Bonus Reminder
- Coupons are a Waste?
- How to Save Money on Pet Care
- Best HSA Custodian?
- Considering a High Deductible Health Plan
- Pay Back the Homebuyer Tax Credit?
- How to Find a Good Deal
- How Much Does Your Debt Cost?
Recent comments...
- Jerry Robertson: Your article has great information about the large companies going out of business, but...
- laura: I have a foreclosure on my credit from Jan 2007 and my FICO score...
- nickel: Ron: Good question, and I have no idea as to the answer. It could...
- Christina: While foreclosures wreck less havoc on the score than a bankruptcy (according to your...
- Ron: Why do you think those large mortgage lenders are switching over to Vantage? Does...
- XY: I wish they would have special checkouts for people who plan to use 5...
- Live for Improvement: Going vertical with storage is definately the way to go! You should see my garage...
- Jessica: Just do a google search and it should be pretty easy to find. ...
Most talked about...
- Dave Ramsey is Bad at Math
- $8,000 Homebuyer Tax Credit
- Dish Network Customer Service SUCKS
- How to Claim the First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit
- $15,000 Homebuyer Tax Credit
- Reduced Credit Limits? Share Your Experience
- Would the "Fair Tax" Gut the Economy?
- Tax Stimulus Rebate Payments to Start Early
- Pay Off Mortgage Early? Or Invest?
- The Best Online Savings Accounts (Updated!)
- Life's Too Short to Drink Cheap Beer
- $7500 First Time Homebuyer Tax Credit
This is just the beginning of a long recession. Just like the great depression started in 1929 and it took until 1931 for the stock market collapsed. 2008 is like 1929, just wait until 2011.
Comment by Curt at PennyJobs.com — Apr 10th 2008 @ 3:16 pmGreenspan was a fool. It was his direct lending policy that caused the housing market crash. He has been declaring all of this as not his mess even before he left his position.
Comment by Matt — Apr 11th 2008 @ 10:25 amOne thing he did do right, was to leave his position when he saw how much he screwed it up, instead of staying in to try to correct it. You don’t just leave Fed rates low for years, then hike it back up and leave office.
UGGHHHH, he even wrote a book about how it wasn’t his fault. I hope he takes his guilt to his grave.
Good, at least we know they screwed us “professionally”!
Comment by Matt — Apr 11th 2008 @ 10:49 amI would’ve thought someone like Greenspan would be much more professional than this. Sounds like he wants to “protect his legacy.”
Oddly enough, Businessweek has Uncle Ben on the cover. Could Alan be jealous? Doesn’t he know the definition of recession?
Recession isn’t slow growth or even zero growth. It’s two consecutive quarters of negative GDP growth. So far, we are not in one officially. We’re definitely in one emotionally, though.
Comment by Ron@TheWisdomJournal — Apr 11th 2008 @ 11:38 amI agree with the previous comments and Alan G’s comments – we are heading for a very rough time. This is the time you need to plan for the worst (eg having 50% in cash or investments outside the states). Make more mortgage payments if possible as well to give yourself a buffer as well.
Comment by AndyS — Apr 11th 2008 @ 1:53 pmAndyS: Making more mortgage payments only helps you if you end up needing to sell your house, or are near the end of your mortgage. For people who recently bought a home, within their means, it’s wiser to save up cash than to put it towards the mortgage. That way, you will still be able to PAY your mortgage if something goes wrong (job loss, etc.)
Comment by Anitra — Apr 11th 2008 @ 2:11 pmhow the F do you get to call this a recession without the 2 straight quarters of falling GDP? I don’t care if we are “about to” go into one, we are not in one – yet.
Maybe they’ll just make up a new number or name for this, like “core recession” or some crap like that. Only the government can make up as much crap as they do.
Am I the only optimist here? I’d like to think that we really aren’t going to get hit hard. Sure, some groups are going to get bent over without the possibility of getting a hug or even a call the next day. But let’s face it – they probably don’t deserve it.
Comment by thomas — Apr 14th 2008 @ 2:38 am