Zip It Maestro
by digby
Apparently, Alan Greenspan has popped his head up and deigns to tell us all once again to believe him or believe our lying eyes. Krugman gives Uncle Alan a stern — and well-deserved — talking to:
Greenspan writes in characteristic form: other people may have their models, but he’s the wise oracle who knows the deep mysteries of human behavior, who can discern patterns based on his ineffable knowledge of economic psychology and history.
Sorry, but he doesn’t get to do that any more. 2011 is not 2006. Greenspan is an ex-Maestro; his reputation is pushing up the daisies, it’s gone to meet its maker, it’s joined the choir invisible.
He’s no longer the Man Who Knows; he’s the man who presided over an economy careening to the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression — and who saw no evil, heard no evil, refused to do anything about subprime, insisted that derivatives made the financial system more stable, denied not only that there was a national housing bubble but that such a bubble was even possible.
If he wants to redeem himself through hard and serious reflection about how he got it so wrong, fine — and I’d be interested in listening. If he thinks he can still lecture us from his pedestal of wisdom, he’s wasting our time.
It takes some nerve for him to start issuing arrogant Delphic edicts at this point.
Greenspan is the king of the Very Serious People and the last one anyone should listen to. It would be like inviting Paul Wolfowitz on TV to talk about the Middle East. Oh wait …
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