EDITORIAL
Alan and the missing billions
Clinton has appointed Alan Greenspan to head the Federal
Reserve Bank for a fourth term--longer than any elected
president is allowed to serve--and Wall Street is cheering. All
the fawning admirers of monopoly capitalism are praising
Greenspan's level-headedness, his steady hand at the helm, his
manipulation of interest rates to keep inflation down, and so
on.
They now even praise his preaching of a year ago against
excessive "exuberance" in the stock market, as though that had
accomplished anything. The market has since climbed to such
giddy heights that all over the world investors are holding
their breath waiting for the crash and hoping that, with Alan
on the job, maybe they'll have a little warning so they can get
out in time.
What none of these "analysts" seem to want to remind us of
is the real reason they love Greenspan. Because that requires
going over a little history, and who wants to be reminded of
such a dreary subject in these heady days of the new
millennium?
Their love affair with this man began in 1987, just after he
began his first term. After a phenomenal rise early in the year
that had Wall Street gaga, the stock market on Oct. 19 took a
big, big dive, losing almost a quarter of its value. The big
investors don't mind a little "shakeout" that drives out the
small fry so they can pick up bargain stocks. But this one was
heading for the basement.
Reassuring statements from the great new leader at the helm
didn't work. But then he did something that had the moneymen
cheering. Greenspan opened the vaults of the Federal Reserve
and poured tens of billions of dollars--the total amount has
never been revealed--into the brokerage houses so they could
buy back their stocks and halt the decline.
No collateral was required. The money could be going down
the rathole as far as anyone knew. Can you imagine the
government ever stepping in that way to help the unemployed, or
flood victims, or anyone else besides the parasites on Wall
Street? Besides having to give them your life story, your urine
and your DNA, you'd need to prove you could pay it back some
time. But not our great risk-taking entrepreneurs. Their word
was good enough. Why, if they went under the whole capitalist
system would be in jeopardy! And wouldn't that be a shame.
So Wall Street was saved for another day, or another decade,
of obscene profit taking while the poor get poorer, here and
around the world. By the way, is that where our welfare money
and our social security money and the other missing billions
went? It's something to think about.
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