An American Hero

An increasing amount of mail is directed this way when Alan Greenspan pops up in the news, something that appears to be happening with frightening regularity these days.

This was once referred to as something like the movie Groundhog Day, where, day after day the same events unfolded (i.e., waking up to find new links from readers about the recent exploits of the former Fed chairman).

With his memoirs set for publication this fall, this condition is likely to get worse before it gets better.

[On a related note, understanding that the name of this blog can not endure forever, alternatives are being considered. The name www.BadMacro.com has been reserved for possible future use. Any thoughts on this would be appreciated.]

Anyway, this link was forwarded a day or two ago where it was learned that Stocks, Futures, and Options Magazine is about to anoint the departed Fed chairman an "American Hero" for 2007.

A bit premature perhaps, as 2007 is still quite young...

Had the group checked their calendar, they would have realized that there are almost ten months to go in 2007 and, if the current state of affairs in subprime lending is any indication, this award may look a little silly when the budding leaves currently developing begin to drop from trees this fall.

Alan Greenspan, who was Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve from 1987 to 2006, was one to whom the famous phrase from the E.F Hutton ad resoundingly applies: When he talked, people listened. In fact, the talking heads on CNN et al. (not to mention heads of global financial institutions) spent hours parsing his sentences for clues to Fed policy. He was famous for giving speeches that were difficult to interpret but fraught with meaning—he once mocked himself for this trait, telling a U.S. Senate Committee in 1987, “I guess I should warn you, if I turn out to be particularly clear, you’ve probably misunderstood what I said.”

Greenspan is seen as more than a brilliant, perceptive and trusted Chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve Board, which oversees the Federal Reserve Bank – a private corporation chartered in 1913 by Congress and then-President Woodrow Wilson to service the nation’s banks. He remains to this day an icon, something of a sage or oracle.

He presided over the greatest period of economic expansion in U.S. history, bringing a previously erratic economy under control and stabilizing it. He was frequently called “a steady hand on the tiller of the ship of interest rates.” During his unprecedented, five-term tenure as Fed Chairman, comparable only to the stewardship of William McChesney Martin Jr., who served in the role from 1951 to 1970, he was the most influential economic figure in the world.
...
Largely responsible for directing U.S. national monetary policy, in essence, Greenspan was the face of American capitalism. Twice a year, he presented Congress with his assessment of America’s economic status, and millions around the world tuned out everything else to hear each word.
...
He brings out effusive praise from many who know him. Senator John McCain said in 1999, when running for President, “I would not only reappoint Mr. Greenspan, but if Mr. Greenspan should happen to die, God forbid – I would do like they did in the movie ‘Weekend at Bernie’s.’ I’d prop him up and put a pair of dark glasses on him and keep him as long as we could.”

SFO has chosen to honor Mr. Greenspan as an “American Hero,” at the magazine’s annual luncheon at the Futures Industry Association Annual International Conference in Boca Raton, Florida, on March 15.

SFO Publisher, Russell Wasendorf Sr., said: “For our American Hero series we choose people from varied sectors of life. We have had a military leader, a philanthropist, and a representative of the media and journalism. Dr. Greenspan, as the voice of the Federal Reserve and the face of capitalism, is heroic for his advocacy of America’s beloved free market system and as a leader who has served this country with integrity, foresight and dexterity in the field of economics.”

Hat Tip to Gary M. for forwarding this story.

ooo

Another double-shot of cartoons from The Economist, the first one featuring you-know-who.