Passport

Greenspan: I am not infallible

Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan admitted today that he is not, in fact, infallible. Asked at a congressional hearing if the financial crisis had led him to discover any flaws in his free-market thinking, Greenspan confessed to being “partially” wrong about regulating derivatives. He added:  We cannot expect perfection in any area where forecasting ...

By
591874_081023_greenspan2.jpg
591874_081023_greenspan2.jpg

Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan admitted today that he is not, in fact, infallible.

Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan admitted today that he is not, in fact, infallible.

Asked at a congressional hearing if the financial crisis had led him to discover any flaws in his free-market thinking, Greenspan confessed to being “partially” wrong about regulating derivatives. He added: 

We cannot expect perfection in any area where forecasting is required… We have to do our best but not expect infallibility or omniscience.”

For what it’s worth, if you were reading Foreign Policy in January 2005 or even as recently as April 2008, you already knew that Greenspan was not all that.

Photo: TIM SLOAN/AFP/Getty Images

Tags: Finance and Banking, U.S. Congress

latest

Nigeria’s Unhappy Birthday

As China’s Property Sector Crumbles, Who Takes the Fall?

Hungary Severs Aid to Ukraine

The Hard Road to Equal Pay in U.S. Soccer

Indonesia Asks Where the Money Is for Green Transition
See All Stories

Editors’ Picks

  1. 1
    As China’s Property Sector Crumbles, Who Takes the Fall?
  2. 2
    Cultural Decoupling From China Is Not the Answer
  3. 3
    Deterrence in Taiwan Is Failing
  4. 4
    Hong Kong’s Bureaucrats Don’t Make Good Authoritarians
  5. 5
    How the U.S. Created Its Own Reality
  6. 6
    Iran Is Doubling Down on Headscarves

More from Foreign Policy

An illustration shows the Statue of Liberty holding a torch with other hands alongside hers as she lifts the flame, also resembling laurel, into place on the edge of the United Nations laurel logo.
An illustration shows the Statue of Liberty holding a torch with other hands alongside hers as she lifts the flame, also resembling laurel, into place on the edge of the United Nations laurel logo.

A New Multilateralism

How the United States can rejuvenate the global institutions it created.

A view from the cockpit shows backlit control panels and two pilots inside a KC-130J aerial refueler en route from Williamtown to Darwin as the sun sets on the horizon.
A view from the cockpit shows backlit control panels and two pilots inside a KC-130J aerial refueler en route from Williamtown to Darwin as the sun sets on the horizon.

America Prepares for a Pacific War With China It Doesn’t Want

Embedded with U.S. forces in the Pacific, I saw the dilemmas of deterrence firsthand.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, seen in a suit and tie and in profile, walks outside the venue at the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation. Behind him is a sculptural tree in a larger planter that appears to be leaning away from him.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, seen in a suit and tie and in profile, walks outside the venue at the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation. Behind him is a sculptural tree in a larger planter that appears to be leaning away from him.

The Endless Frustration of Chinese Diplomacy

Beijing’s representatives are always scared they could be the next to vanish.

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan welcomes Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman during an official ceremony at the Presidential Complex in Ankara, on June 22, 2022.
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan welcomes Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman during an official ceremony at the Presidential Complex in Ankara, on June 22, 2022.

The End of America’s Middle East

The region’s four major countries have all forfeited Washington’s trust.

Trending

  1. Hungary Severs Aid to Ukraine
    World Brief
    Alexandra Sharp

  2. Wagner’s African Hosts Regret Letting Them In
    Dispatch
    Jack Detsch

  3. As China’s Property Sector Crumbles, Who Takes the Fall?
    China Brief
    James Palmer

  4. Iran Is Doubling Down on Headscarves
    Analysis
    Sina Toossi

  5. How the U.S. Created Its Own Reality
    Excerpt
    Heather Cox Richardson