Alan Greenspan on Fox

Interviewee: Alan Greenspan
Interviewer: Fox
Date: 15 October 2007

Economic analyst par excellence, Alan Greenspan was the second longest-serving Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. He was installed into the chairmanship on Aug. 11, 1987 for the first of four consecutive terms. Until the end of his tenure in 2006, statespersons and investors alike have fallen back on his first-rate knowledge of the world’s biggest economies.

Throughout eighteen years as Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, Alan Greenspan has deflected several threats to the US economy, including two Gulf Wars and the 2000 Internet bubble burst. Above all, Greenspan is credited for upending the Black Monday stock market crash on October 1987, when the Dow Jones depreciated 20% in a single day. Alan Greenspan also lowered inflation beyond what was thought possible. However, the 1990-1991 economic recession spurred fallout between him and President George H.W. Bush.

Ironically, Alan Greenspan secured his last term through President George W. Bush’s nomination. Although a Republican to his core, Greenspan has advised President Clinton on many issues. In Richard Nixon’s administration, Greenspan was the Director of Domestic Policy Research. Under President Gerald Ford, he chaired the White House Council of Economic Advisors from 1974 to 1977. Between 1981 and 1983 he chaired the National Commission on Social Security Reform. Eventually he was made one of President Reagan’s economic advisers.

Outside the White House, Alan Greenspan directed the boards of many firms, including J.P. Morgan and Mobil. Time magazine also sought him for economic counsel. In 1954, Alan Greenspan and William Townsend founded Townsend & Greenspan, a consultancy company catering to big-time corporations.

In November 2005, George W. Bush honored him with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest award any civilian could get in the US. He was also knighted Commander of the British Empire in the United Kingdom.

Alan Greenspan is an able saxophone player.