Alan Greenspan: The Oracle Behind The Curtain

There is an endless supply of rave reviews for Alan Greenspan and the Fed. This is due to Greenspan's political manipulations, the reluctance of politicians to challenge the Federal Reserve, the press corps' willingness to trade glowing reviews for access, and private economists with ambitions of becoming Fed Governors. With Greenspan's announced retirement, the devastating effects of Fed actions are mounting. Even as institutional reforms are suggested, it is shown how they have been blocked by an ideology favored by financial wealth-holders at the expense of wage labor.This thought-provoking new title, by the highly acclaimed author of Wall Street Capitalism and A Brief History of Economics, provides a much-needed counterbalance to the mythical distortions of Alan Greenspan. Canterbery exposes Greenspan's fundamentalist market ideology as overwhelming rationality in the making of economic policy. He depicts a Fed selfishly guarding its political independence, even as Greenspan has his way in virtually every major economic and social policy affecting the global economy since the Ford Administration.This book reveals the hidden nodes of power that give the Fed vast authority over the global economy. It also explains why it is so important not only to understand those powers, but also to appreciate why they are resistant to moderation.

Table of Contents:
Greenspan and the Myth of His Purity Adam Smith, Free Markets and the Greenspan Standard When Markets Have Failed, Greenspan Has Been on the Scene On the Independence of Alan Greenspan and the Federal Reserve System Fedspeak and the Innocent Hypocrisy of Independence White House Dependence and the Hypocrisy of Personal Interference Greenspanmail Redefines the New Democrats Fed and White House Dependence on Wall Street Investment Bankers The Fable of the Goldilocks Economy The Wolf at the Door of Ordinary Workers Global Market Failures The Collapse of the Great American Stock Market Bubble Derivatives: Throwing in the Chips Fed Dependence on Hedge Funds? Greenspan Takes Us from Goldilocks to the Soft Patch and Back Again The Housing Bubble Conundrum Social Insecurity: On the Cutting Edge of Federal Budget Deficits Getting Personal with Savings, at Home and Abroad King Alan II Prospects for Reform

Review :
"Canterbery writes for professional and scholarly readers and also in more popular vein for lay readers. Whatever the subject and the audience, he writes clear and interesting prose."James TobinNobel Prize, Economic Sciences, 1981"There are few scholars whose work I have found more interesting, more useful, and who have more consistently elicited my respect and admiration. Canterbery is also original and not inhibited by conventional and controlling doctrine."John Kenneth GalbraithHarvard University"Ray Canterbery is an unusual economist. In an age of narrow specialization he manages to cover a wide variety of subjects, from the history of economic thought to problems of foreign trade and finance, while also revealing an ability to perform econometric modeling at a highly technical level and to communicate with audiences at all levels."Robert HeilbronerAuthor of The Worldly Philosophers"At last: A short, fast rundown of the Ayn Rand devotee who pulls the right-wing economic strings on the US and global economy! A satirical, fun read as well!"Gar AlperovitzUniversity of MarylandAuthor of America Beyond Capitalism: Reclaiming Our Wealth, Our Democracy and Our Liberty"This book provides a nice antidote to recent works worshipping Greenspan ..."Eastern Economic Journal"I read Ray Canterbery's exquisite dissection of the great Greenspan with pleasure and profit."James K GalbraithLBJ School of Public Affairs,University of Texas at Austin andAuthor of Unbearable Cost: Bush, Greenspan and the Economics of Empire"Because he is a gifted writer who avoids jargon and unnecessary abstraction, Professor Canterbery defends his points in ways that are accessible to general readers ... there are a number of issues he raises that are well-researched and convincingly argued."Journal of Economic Issues