589 Quotes by Alan Greenspan

The guiding purpose of the government regulator is to prevent rather than to create something.

The recent data still exhibit deterioration, ... The question of most fundamental importance is how long will that continue and where will it spread, and where will the stampede of buffalo stamp all over us before we can stem this.

The central focus of what we are doing at the Fed is to keep inflation from accelerating - and preferably decelerating.

The complexity of our economy is such, and the way liquidity flows through the system is such, that you essentially get very complex differences in the way monetary policy plays out, ... But, at the end of the day, it does seem to be effective.

Foreign investors, both private and official, may become less willing to absorb ever-growing claims on U.S. residents,

The determination of global economic activity in recent years has been influenced importantly by capital gains on various types of assets, and the liabilities that finance them. Our forecasts and hence policy are becoming increasingly driven by asset price changes.

There do appear to be, at a minimum, signs of froth in some local markets,

We're a democratic society. Shutting down the government should not be on the agenda.

It's the type of step you would want to take when you've had a decade-long fixed structure, ... I think they've been cautious and admirably so.