Greenspan's 18-year tenure at the Federal Reserve stands as one of the most consequential stretches of economic leadership in American history. He guided the country through booms and crises alike while building the Fed's credibility into one of its most durable assets. From Washington Heights to the heights of Washington, his career proved that rigorous thinking and public service can genuinely shape a nation.
Greenspan knew exactly what a central bank printing press does to savers — he wrote a devastating takedown of it in 1966 — then spent two decades running that same press anyway. Greenspan taught Wall Street that reckless bets would always get bailed out, and his 1% rates pumped up the housing bubble that wrecked millions of families. Calling that legacy a triumph ignores the impacts of everyone who paid for it.
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