Secrets and Truths

There was a similar report on Greenspan's overtly complex language in the New Yorker. Here Krugman goes further than the Talk of the Town to let the public know that all Greenspan has is a good staff and a talnt for crunching numbers effecively. These seem like bland traits that would make anyone shrug and ask "so what?" Convinced, they are, that there must be something more behind the wily workings of the mysterious Fed. For a long time I was under the same impression, but upon listening to Greenspan I found his rhetoric no more confusing than Shakespeare, Locke or any of your more stringent translations of Latin. Not a walk in the park, but if you pay attention, look up the words and data you don't know, it becomes fairly easy to read. It's vague, but then again, this is economic analysis and basing influential policy on it every quarter. Interestingly, Greenspan has been more open about his decisions and the data that influenced them than any past Fed Chairman. To that end, I think we that are interested in monetary policy should keep our ears open, because the next Chairman may not be so open with his thoughts. In that event, we would be wise to have a store of info of what data influenced Greenspan and how it shaped his policy. It's no Rosetta Stone, but it's a start.
- posted by levinson @ 1/17/2001 07:44:00 AM