Greenspan: US "Can Pay Any Debt It Has Because We Can Always Print Money"

[kpete]

Source: Real Clear Politics

Greenspan: US "Can Pay Any Debt It Has Because We Can Always Print Money"

Former Chairman of the Federal Reserve Alan Greenspan explains how the United States can pay down the debt. By printing money. Transcript:



David Gregory, moderator of "Meet The Press" on NBC: "Are U.S. treasury bonds still safe to invest in?"

Alan Greenspan, Former Chairman of the Federal Reserve: "Very much so. This is not an issue of credit rating, the United States can pay any debt it has because we can always print money to do that. So, there is zero probability of default."


Greenspan says the S&P downgrade was just meant to hit a "nerve" and hurt the "self-esteem of the United States."

Read more: http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2011/08/07/greenspan_us_can_pay_any_debt_it_has_because_we_can_always_print_money.html

[no_hypocrisy]

1. Welcome to Weimar USA.

[ixion]

4. spot on, that.

[AverageJoe90]

49. Not quite.

Currency manipulation........... how else could things have gotten truly that bad? That can't have been natural by any means.

[DeSwiss]

16. ''Honey, we've got enough for a quart of milk and half a dozen eggs......

...if I can get there before the markets close.''





- On the plus side, green printer's ink will be worth its weight in gold......

K&R

[Yo_Mama]

40. Ah, someone knows their history!

Yes, this guy is advocating the Argentinian solution. That destroyed the Argentinian economy.

[roomfullofmirrors]

2. Got Gold?

[roamer65]

8. Hell yeah.

[marmar]

3. Today's printed money is tomorrow's coarse toilet paper.

nt

[dkf]

10. If you are printing money to pay your debts that usually means nobody wants to buy your bonds

Which says hyperinflation to me.

[baldguy]

5. Go buy a loaf of bread after we start doing that.

[Drahthaardogs]

6. It worked so well for Germany

We should try it!

[TheWraith]

7. "...As long as you don't mind paying $100 for bread."

Apparently Greenspan's brain has gone. Doubly so if he doesn't realize that the amount of currency in circulation is limited by law.

[snappyturtle]

12. I watched this morning and he looked awful I can't understand why

he would be considered a credible panel member. It's bad enough we have to put up with Andrea Mitchel Greenspan!

[47of74]

9. God, Greenspan is such a fucking idiot!

[Politicalboi]

11. So if I have checks

I must have money in the bank. I see how it works now.

[Hosnon]

25. You don't have your own currency and, even if you did, it isn't the world's reserve currency.

Big difference.

[rayofreason]

47. Send Geithner your resume n/t

[politicasista]

13. delete n/t

[alp227]

14. that's something a fourth-grader would say n/t

[blkmusclmachine]

15. .

:nuke: :nuke: :nuke:

[ozone_man]

17. He didn't actually say that did he?

Weimar Republic here we come.

[Frank Cannon]

28. Shocking, isn't it? If he really believes this...

he has either been stricken with dementia or he never knew WTF he was doing in the first place.

Even a kid who's taken either a high school world history or an economics class knows that past a certain point, this eventually works out to be a very bad idea.

[placton]

18. ah, ever the brilliant man

please. Al. Suck on this?

[Fool Count]

19. Just because US "can always print money" does not mean that

they actually will and not simply refuse to honor their obligations when it comes to it. So Greenspan's "zero probability of default" estimate is overstating it a bit.
If I was an investor in the US debt I would be less than reassured by these words. Particularly when all that is standing between my money and US government's
refusal to pay its debts is, apparently, the 14th amendment and the nine old folks of questionable lucidity. Not really an AAA-type of reassurance in any sober
mind.

[jwirr]

20. Isn't that like saying we are going to pay our bills with worthless money? nt

[Amonester]

21. Well, it isn't worthless as long as every other countries central banks

do the same.

The worthlessness is then 'evenly' spread.

But the problem remains, 80% of all the freshly printed money always end up in the 'Jet-Set' Ruler$ bank accnts, and just die there.

[jwirr]

30. Which means that method is not going to fix the economy. Thanks.

[christx30]

44. Why waste the linen and metal to print more money?

Declare every leaf in the US currency. Do some raking.
Of Course, then you would have a slight issue with inflation, and it would cost a forest to buy an acorn. But the PRINCIPLE is the same!

[ocd liberal]

22. Remember, Greenspan loved Ayn Rand

thought she was a goddamn genius and all that. He's a treasonous bastard who doesn't know what the hell he's talking about - never has.

[Frank1]

46. Solutions

There are only 4 options. The easiest is to print more money. Of course, that would cause inflation (hyper-since the debt is so bad).

Then there is raising income. There are two ways to do this. Improve the economy and/or raise taxes. Neither of which is easy at this time. People figure out ways to not pay taxes, don't hire people, don't start businesses if the government is trying to take their money... Improving the economy is difficult because of all the debt. People don't trust that they will get back what they invest.

There is cutting spending so that things come in to balance. This is hard because there are so many dependent people. 70% of Americans get more from the Fed Gov than they send in.

And then there is default or postpone, which does not grow an economy either.

[Javaman]

23. please someone check his brain for mad ayn rand syndrome.

because Alzheimer's can't explain this stupidity.

[Javaman]

24. Hmm, I think someone needs to look into greenspaz's background

as head of the fed and if he had a little collusion with the mint during tenure.

[unkachuck]

26. "...because we can always print money..."

....doesn't default or worthless money both yield inflation? Could you be wrong about this, too?

....honestly alan, you need to recommend taxing the rich, price controls on healthcare and energy plus Jobs, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid for all, then we'll know the guilt you must feel and share for wrecking our economy will have dissipated and that you've repented for the untold suffering of the American people....

....still, it's better that you get out of the house once in a while and spread some corporate pop-economisting-BS for a few bucks....I see Andrea's found you a part-time job where she works, she's a great wife....

[alphafemale]

27. wait? what?

He was joking, right.

Please someone tell me he was joking.

[Turborama]

29. Yeah, ok...

[and-justice-for-all]

31. I am not an economics genius, but I think thats a bad idea...

for at least a few reason.

[wickerwoman]

45. Exactly. Never taken an economics class in my life,

but I'm pretty sure we covered printing money = inflation = bad shit in 9th grade history class.

[buckrogers1965]

32. Good news everyone!

And by good news I mean bad news.

I guess I should be thankful I lived in a great country up until I stopped being able to find work in 2007.

This will help people pay off their loans anyway. No need to worry about about making those $1200 mortgage payments when minimum wage is $100,000 an hour.

[fascisthunter]

37. don't forget inflation

at this point, I say people ignore their debts... fuck it!

[harun]

33. Idiot. Like there are no repercussions to that.

[No Elephants]

34. From the man who pressured Congress to repeal Glass Steagall.

Please someone, remind me why Dick Gregory and NBC are treating this guy as an expert to whom the nation should listen?

The man whose religion, "Trust markets to regulate themselves," had a huge role in bringing us the global economic collapse of 2008?

And NBC gave his wife a daily show on MSNBC, why?

The same NBC that fired Maria Shriver as a special reporter because her husband got himself elected Governor and that supposedly blew her objectivity and credibility?

At the very least, Andrea should disclose her husband's identity and his role in global economic collapse at the start of every show.

[area51]

35. "... because we can always print money to do that."

:wtf:

[fascisthunter]

36. it's almost as if they want us to be Germany before the nazis took over

and my oh my, we have plenty of nazi-minds in the US, just look upon the GOP and their Tea Bagging Cult!

[Yo_Mama]

38. Well, if you pay back in a degraded currency it is default

And also, that course would hugely increase our interest rates, not to mention inflicting dire poverty on working and middle class Americans.

So that isn't precisely reassuring!

[kiranon]

39. Perhaps he has had a mini stroke or two. What an odd comment

to make.

[Doctor_J]

41. Exactly what the Weimar Republic did after WWI

And that turned out great! :eyes:

[AngryOldDem]

42. You think he would know better. n/t

[mrdmk]

43. Is Greenspan really saying that the U.S.A. does not buy their ink and paper from China?

This is as stupid as stupid gets...

[Bluegene]

48. Not sharp to begin with

He never was the sharpest knife in the drawer, but now pure insanity. Yeah, let's just print money and pay everything off...Woohoo.:wtf: