Kudos to Paul Volker for telling it like it is
October 01, 2009
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This recent quote from Paul Volker is possibly the best quote that I have ever seen from anyone that is even remotely close to being involved in the government:
“I think it’s questionable of how rapidly the economy will expand after this recession, because there are a lot of basic adjustments that have to be made…. We can’t just pump up consumption and pump up housing again. Might pad us for a year or two, but it’s imbalance that got us in trouble in the first place. We’ve got to work toward producing more goods, selling more goods abroad, being more competitive abroad, maintaining a decent rate of savings, bringing budgetary–federal budgetary situation back into something that’s sustainable, and all those things, plus the financial market is wounded. There’s no doubt about that, and it won’t recover from those wounds, deep wounds for a while.” (When pressed, Volcker wouldn’t put an exact time frame on the recovery, but said it would take “several’ years.)”
I can't believe that Volker hasn't been given an even more prominent position by the current Administration. No wait, I take that back...I do believe it. Giving Volker actual responsibilities, such as Secretary of the Treasury or Head of the Federal Reserve makes too much sense in place of the inexperienced academics that currently hold those positions (I'm not sure that one can even call Geithner an academic...I'm not sure what he is). He is a smart guy gets it, who has been there and done that and who actually has the stones to do what needs to be done rather than taking escaping on the Greenspan balloon ride.
The recovery has started, but it will be much slower than the "V"-People believe.
Deej
