Greenspan on Bill Clinton

[ChinoCoug]

The maestro had high praise for him in his memoirs:

Always focused on long-term health of economy.

Fiscally disciplined.

Respected independence of Fed--never commented on monetary policy.

Unusually high level of attention to economic issues.

[jay santos]

Originally Posted by ChinoCoug

The maestro had high praise for him in his memoirs:

Always focused on long-term health of economy.

Fiscally disciplined.

Respected independence of Fed--never commented on monetary policy.

Unusually high level of attention to economic issues.

It was the republican congress not Clinton.

And it was the democratic congress and/or unfortunate circumstances that Reagan, Bush, and Bush ballooned the deficit and debt.

[il Padrino Ute]

Originally Posted by jay santos

It was the republican congress not Clinton.

And it was the democratic congress and/or unfortunate circumstances that Reagan, Bush, and Bush ballooned the deficit and debt.

You nailed it.

[ChinoCoug]

Originally Posted by il Padrino Ute

You nailed it.

he was being sarcastic.

[il Padrino Ute]

Originally Posted by ChinoCoug

he was being sarcastic.

Was he? Or do you hope he was being sarcastic?

[ChinoCoug]

Originally Posted by il Padrino Ute

Was he? Or do you hope he was being sarcastic?

He can speak for himself, but I'm sure he's poking fun at partisans who refuse to recognize an opposing party's achievements no matter what.

Greenspan, OTOH, is a conservative Republican, yet he calls a spade a spade. Just the opposite.

[il Padrino Ute]

Originally Posted by ChinoCoug

He can speak for himself, but I'm sure he's poking fun at partisans who refuse to recognize an opposing party's achievements no matter what.

Greenspan, OTOH, is a conservative Republican, yet he calls a spade a spade. Just the opposite.

When it comes to the economy, neither party can take credit for it being good, but both are to be blamed if it's bad. That is why I don't give Clinton credit.

Besides, Clinton was the purest of politicians this country has ever seen. He did whatever it would take to make himself look good.

[ChinoCoug]

Originally Posted by il Padrino Ute

When it comes to the economy, neither party can take credit for it being good, but both are to be blamed if it's bad. That is why I don't give Clinton credit.

Besides, Clinton was the purest of politicians this country has ever seen. He did whatever it would take to make himself look good.

he also did whatever it took to balance the budget, cut welfare rolls by more than half, and move people out of poverty than Reagan + Bush I combined.

[il Padrino Ute]

Originally Posted by ChinoCoug

he also did whatever it took to balance the budget, cut welfare rolls by more than half, and move people out of poverty than Reagan + Bush I combined.

Yawn.

That is exactly what I was talking about. Clinton did it all for himself and for nobody else. Being a pure politician is not a compliment. Had Dems been in charge welfare would have increased exponentially.

But did he really do it? If he did, why is the left screaming about the disparity between the rich and poor?

If you want all to be wealthy, it's done by a combination of allowing the market to happen and keeping the government out of it. The liberal way doesn't work.

[ChinoCoug]

Originally Posted by il Padrino Ute

Yawn.

That is exactly what I was talking about. Clinton did it all for himself and for nobody else. Being a pure politician is not a compliment. Had Dems been in charge welfare would have increased exponentially.

But did he really do it? If he did, why is the left screaming about the disparity between the rich and poor?

If you want all to be wealthy, it's done by a combination of allowing the market to happen and keeping the government out of it. The liberal way doesn't work.

Clinton's been moving people off welfare since he was governor of Arkansas. Dems since RFK have been wanting to do it.

The disparity widened after Bush came in and cut rich people's taxes.

BTW, Greenspan didn't really give a hud about Clinton's progressive goals. The chapter was entitled "A Democrat's Agenda." He talked about Clinton's job training programs and middle-class tax cut in passing, but he said he appreciated that Clinton put them off until after the budget was balanced.

He said Clinton was always trying to pass more of the tech wealth to the middle class, but it didn't seem like a big deal to Greenspan.

Bill understood market forces, and I don't think Hillary does.