Ex Fed Chief Greenspan Criticizes Bush Economic Policies in His New Book

I can only say “Thank you Mr. Greenspan.” On Monday, Alan Greenspan’s book “The Age of Turbulence: Adventures in a New World,” hits the bookstores and already the press is talking about his stinging criticism of the Bush administration. I’m glad someone with Greenspan’s integrity and record of success has finally made clear what many of us have known for some time – Bush’s economic policies are bankrupt and are bankrupting our country.

In a remarkable series of admissions, ex Fed chief Alan Greenspan attacks the Bush economic program, describing Bush’s economic team as having “swapped principle for power. They ended up with neither. They deserved to lose,” he continued, referring to the 2004 mid-term elections.

Unlike Bush, he has kind words for former President Clinton. He decribes the former President as a sponge for economic data who maintained “a consistent, disciplined focus on long-term economic growth.”

This of course, simply cements what I have long known – Bush’s economic policies as well as all of his other policies were vaguely thought through, short-sighted, and made for purely political reasons. It wasn’t the Bush tax cut that rescued the country from a recession in 2001 but rather Greenspan’s drastic lowering of interest rates.

All that Bush has managed to do is take a budget that was running a huge surplus and sink it deep into the red.

Of course many try to defend Bush by criticizing Greenspan. Give me a break. No other central banker has presided over such a long period of prosperity and helped rescue the world from so many potentially catastrophic economic meltdowns – the crash of 1987, the economic meltdown in 1997, the collapse of Long Term Capital, the bursting of the stock and Internet bubbles in 2001, and more.

Many will try and blame Greenspan for the current housing recession. Of course that is like saying a coach that won 3 supper bowls in a row should be criticized because his team is having a down season. Things happen, no one is perfect forever.

Contrast this with Bush’s record. Unchecked Federal spending, massive deficits, hundreds of billions spent on a misguided war, etc., etc.

You can decide whose spin to listen to.