Why is it just accepted theory that Alan Greenspan and Hank Paulson are such brilliant men?

[marmar]

I heard that over and over again this week, on channel after channel, from analyst after analyst, from people who support their actions and those who are critical of them.
Greenspan's Freidman worship laid the groundwork for our current economic mess, and Paulson's now-failed ex-company contributed mightily to the subprime disaster.
So are these men really brilliant....or are they "useful idiots," to quote Stalin?

:think: :dunce:

[elleng]

1. HABIT!

BAD habit!

[Triana]

2. Obviously - they're not. Esp Paulson - who was just a Wall St. tycoon who took over the treasury

...and drove the truck right out with all the money in it (and then some and then some more) after holding Congress at gunpoint with threats. That rat bastard (or ANYONE from Wall St.) should have NEVER been allowed in his position - it's a conflict of interest. (DUH).

WE'VE BEEN ROBBED.

[anigbrowl]

3. Oh I'd say they're fairly brilliant. Wrong, but that happens.

I have a lot of respect for Paulson - and recall, he didn't create the conditions for this mess. On the whole, I think he's handling it reasonably well. That'll be anathema to most people here, but I actually like him. Did you know he's also a massive donor to environmental causes? Trust me, he's way smarter than Bush, as are Rice and Gates.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13098223/

Greenspan, on the other hand, is very intelligent...but suffers from an alarming degree of hubris, and a startling lack of basic empathy. I don't mean that he's mean or cruel, but that he simply doesn't get why it would be a stupid idea for 9 out of 10 people to get something like an ARM where their payments are going to reset to a much higher level after 5 years. He gets economics, but not psychology. Sometimes I wonder if, after the abuse he received for correctly pointing to an asset bubble during the Clinton years, he didn't just decide to take revenge on a greedy public by talking up cheap mortgages when anyone with a passing interest in economics could have told you that this was going to result in asset inflation.

[BeFree]

6. Me too

Like you, since GWB picked him, I think it means he must be smart. Besides he's richer than everybody on DU so he's smarter than all of us too. And gosh, if he gives money to enviro causes he's got to be a really good man because the tax write-offs help, which proves how smart he is. And yeah, even tho he asked for unconstitutional rights in order to rip us off, all is forgiven, because he's richer than anyone of us and because he's smarter than bush. But so are you. Too bad we have people here who don't trust all the president's men. Life would be easier if they just ignored all the bad stuff eh? Then DU could just be a nice sweet little chat room where nobody ever got their feelings hurt.

[anigbrowl]

11. There there (pats head)

I understand it must be troubling to you for me to think someone is intelligent and making the best of a bad job, even if he's working for Bush, and that your distress would cause you to put words in my mouth.

[varelse]

10. if he's sincere about this...

Paulson believes environmental health and financial well-being are inextricably linked. "The environment and the economy have been totally misconstrued as incompatible," he told Muckraker in an interview earlier this year. "They are opposite sides of the same coin -- you can't consider one without the other."

...then he's smarter than most people on the planet (sadly)

My concern is not with his intelligence, but with his motives. Paulson has demanded, and has been given, more power than any other appointed government official in history. What are his goals? That question hasn't been answered, and to my mind, it's at least as relevant than any question of his competence.

[anigbrowl]

12. I think his goals are just economic stability

By which I mean avoiding a complete breakdown of the financial system; unfortunately, we're headed for recession in any case. I don't think he's got a secret plan to take over the US or anything like that.

[ladjf]

4. Greenspan was a good bar room pianist with a prodigious memory.

[alittlelark]

5. The Corporate Media keep repeating it OVER AND OVER and

OVER AND OVER and OVER AND OVER and OVER AND OVER and OVER AND OVER and OVER AND OVER and..........


I guess they are smarter than anyone else:silly: :crazy: :silly: :crazy: :silly:

[orwell]

7. Greenspan is a complete tool...

...and I have been consistent with this observation for about 20 years.

[upi402]

8. Full sentences = Republican genius n/t

[girl gone mad]

9. I believe that history will judge Greenspan to have been..

one of the key architects of this fiasco.

Paulson has always been in way over his head.

[anigbrowl]

13. I'd certainly agree with that

Seems to me Greenspan's reputation saored during relatively easy economic times, and an excess of self-belief led him to institute unwise central banking policies.

[akwapez]

14. I suspect they are brilliant, just have different values and priorities

In general you don't get where they are without being intelligent and capable. Obviously there are exceptions to high level positions being filled by brilliance (See: GWBush et al)

[gravity]

15. Becuase they both are

Both of these guys are really bright, and running the economy is a tricky job. They have made mistakes in the past, but I don't know if anyone else would have done much better in those positions.

The problem on economic matters, is that every decision that you make has consequences, so no matter what you do, you are going to criticize for it. It is easy to play monday morning quarterback, but the decisions that these guys make are tough.

[ArmedAmerican]

16. power bald!

All the right wing super-douches are power bald. Not just a loss of hair, it's the choice to shave the rest of the head. It's supposed to show what super testosterone filled bad asses they are, or something. Isn't Paulson's power baldness reason enough to trust him?

[JonLP24]

17. I don't know

But he is like an idol on Wall Street from what I've read.

[earth mom]

18. Because the mainstream media has brainwashed people that they are brilliant.

Which of course, does NOT make it so.

After this past week, I really hope people are waking up to how much they've been deceived.


If not, watch here:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7065205277695921912&hl=en

[nadinbrzezinski]

19. Readying US Press or foreign press?

In the US they are... it is called "confidence building" and goes hand in hand with the worshiping of Mellon until FDR took over

Abroad people are far less friendly to these two