Charlie Rose

Mockingbird  11/17/2009 09:04 PM Report

Here is a piece of recent journalism to satisfy Trevorfairweather's thirst for objective thinking: "Jacques Attali, who served in the 1980s as the main economics adviser to French President Mitterrand, told an audience at the International Economic and Financial Forum (FIEF) in Paris that the world might well soon face a planetary Weimar “in the form of a hyperinflationary depression similar to the German events of 1922 - 1923". Unfortunately those that claim to posses a higher IQ than others leaving comments here might well do a self re-examination.

trevorfairweather  03/16/2009 11:27 AM Report

Great interview Charlie. If I may comment on the comments; Your viewers are the best example of misplaced arrogance I have ever seen. Your show is great, it offers more indepth analysis than any in the cable news or general media, but it always comes out in a pseudo populist and very leftist way. I can tell by the comments that your viewers by and large are incapable of real objective thinking, all the comments are self indulgent and self reinforcing and barely more well thought out than the blogs at Huffington Post. Unfourtunate really that quality journalism is wasted on idiots.

Mockingbird  12/17/2008 06:09 AM Report

I see now that all has come to pass as I was predicting. The financial crisis is in full swing now with more to come.

rich  08/26/2008 05:46 PM Report

Thomas Jefferson was opposed to Central banks for a very good reason. In a nutshell, by manipulating interest rates and money supply, they allow for the theft of the unaware both coming and going, inflating and deflating. If you don't know what inflation really is, it's the increase in money that actually replaces money removed from the economic circular flow- money that circulates around the country and keeps everything going. Where did the missing money go? Into the bank accounts of anyone who had a surplus above discretionary income. Translation- although the rich pay inflated prices, too, they profited enormously and so inflation for them is the cost of doing business. For the rest of us it is only a tax, to benefit the rich. People, wake up!

greenspan fan  08/14/2008 06:36 AM Report

the thing i like about greenspan is how he analyzes issues. he begins by clearly stating a problem, next he eloquently provides some point either for or against that issue (or one of both) then by the end he is able to very logically state his conclusion. it comes across quite well... very cerebral.

AGreen  05/13/2008 01:14 PM Report

No more taxes!!!!!

Gary Noffke  02/06/2008 11:52 AM Report

The beginning clip from 60 Minutes was most informing. Greenspam was well aware of the sub-prime loan and subsequent housing inflation situation, as he was the direct cause of both. Like Rumsfeld, he's great at double-talk or much talk with saying nothing and then considered to be brilliant, as few to none could understand the rhetorical gibberish. By his admission he was always aware of the sub-prime loan situation, but had "no notion" of its significance until very late. He stated, he didn't get it until 2005 or 2006. Disgusting for someone responsible for setting the interest rate, suckering millions of greedy Americans into buying inflated property they couldn't afford. That accomplished he proceeded to run the interest back up to boost the market and move a lot of the middle class into the lower class. Every move he made as Fed head had a direct and instant effect on the stock market and most aspects of the American economy. Few benefitted from that, but those few benefitted as much as the majority suffered. Now the new Fed has Alan's mess to fix. For a deeply introverted person, Alan has a great deal of trouble keeping his mouth shut. Every time it opens, the stock market drops about 100 points. Of course he's paid an average of $100,000 for a speaking engagement, has his book to promote and continually says he's not interfering with Bernacke or the market, just living his life in the private sector. How can this man have any credibility? He learns something new everyday. half of what he has learned was something he previously believed to be false. That's his statement. He's acutely aware of many mistakes he's made and maintains NONE of them were crucial. He's perceived as a humble genius and a great American. Perhaps we should take these wise words literally as a logical explanation for Greenspam's success:

"Reports that say that something hasn't happened are always interesting to me, because as we know, there are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns--the ones we don't know we don't know." Donald Rumsfeld

false  01/07/2008 11:08 PM Report

What a dumb question the interviewer asked Greenspan about if he learned when he was writing chapter 3 to X...

Dan  12/18/2007 10:20 PM Report

Gee, thanks Greenspan for completely blowing an economic boon. Instead of tempering growth, you decide to fan the flames every chance you get, and then you want to say your legacy is that you directed us to the advantages of risk? Yeah, we have plenty risk now. Thanks for nothing. A legacy? You want a legacy? Try this:

The United States was enjoying economic prosperity. And you blew it. How's that for a legacy.

You 'risked' us up to our eyeballs in debt, so that when the boon ended - we've painted ourselves in a corner. He lowered and lowered and lowered the rate. Then, when there was nothing left to do during an economic boon - and LCTM is going bust? What did he do? Hey, I got it! Let's lower the rate! To bail out a fund during the largest economic boon in our history.

Now - because Berneke inheirted a complete and utter freaking disaster - and he's doing his best to get us out of it - people are crying that "Things aren't as good as when Greenspan was at the helm"; and complaining against Bernanke. Greenspan knew enough when to get out, and look squeaky clean in the process. Gotta give the man props for that sort of maneouvering.

I can't believe that people are looking to that guy for interviews and such during this credit crisis. If anything, he should be thankful he's avoided a public lynching at the DC Mall.

Gary Noffke  12/18/2007 03:52 PM Report

The beginning clip from 60 Minutes was most informing. Greenspam was well aware of the sub-prime loan and subsequent housing inflation situation, as he was the direct cause of both. Like Rumsfeld, he's great at double-talk or much talk with saying nothing and then considered to be brilliant, as few to none could understand the rhetorical gibberish. By his admission he was always aware of the sub-prime loan situation, but had "no notion" of its significance until very late. He stated, he didn't get it until 2005 or 2006. Disgusting for someone responsible for setting the interest rate, suckering millions of greedy Americans into buying inflated property they couldn't afford. That accomplished he proceeded to run the interest back up to boost the market and move a lot of the middle class into the lower class. Every move he made as Fed head had a direct and instant effect on the stock market and most aspects of the American economy. Few benefitted from that, but those few benefitted as much as the majority suffered. Now the new Fed has Alan's mess to fix. For a deeply introverted person, Alan has a great deal of trouble keeping his mouth shut. Every time it opens, the stock market drops about 100 points. Of course he's paid an average of $100,000 for a speaking engagement, has his book to promote and continually says he's not interfering with Bernacke or the market, just living his life in the private sector. How can this man have any credibility? He learns something new everyday. half of what he has learned was something he previously believed to be false. That's his statement. He's acutely aware of many mistakes he's made and maintains NONE of them were crucial. He's perceived as a humble genius and a great American. Perhaps we should take these wise words literally as a logical explanation for Greenspam's success:

"Reports that say that something hasn't happened are always interesting to me, because as we know, there are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns--the ones we don't know we don't know." Donald Rumsfeld

Gerald Weber  11/26/2007 10:37 PM Report

Aha ! Now I have more data to show what I am seeing happening to this once great country of ours. The UN has published information showing

the flow of monies abroad from this economy to foreign countries and clearly shows how these remittances are adversely affecting our own economy due to lower demands for goods and services. The information is provided from the UN's International Fund for Agricultural Development : Sending Money Home - Worldwide Remittance Flows to Developing Countries. the link is provided here as follows: http://www.ifad.org/events/remittances/maps/brochure.pdf

Gerald Weber  11/08/2007 01:06 PM Report

I just read the transcript from Amy Goodman's Democracy Now. I can't imagine how Greenspan can call himself an economist if he prefers to import skilled workers from around the world to lower the wages of American born workers. That's his solution to income disparity in our economy? He is nuts! Now you know why our students don't want to go to college and develop their technical skills when they are being asked to accept foreign wage rates here that corporations pay to H1B visa holders while working in technical markets of rapid change. Worse yet, these college grad are losing their jobs to these lower paid workers. Moreover, how is this going to help our overall economy when these foreign skilled worked send their money abroad to invest in their own foregin markets. Now you know why our government deficits are high and the value of the US dollar is low. If Greenspan had done a good job, this would all be quite the opposite. For nearly two decades he has been watching this country DGP decline without being able to add two plus two.

Allan Sandosham  11/03/2007 04:51 AM Report

Alan Greenspan claims to be an advocate of libertarian ideals. Yet he tacitly supports Cheney and Rumsfeld in the invasion of Iraq to secure oil resources. A true market advocate would have let the market correct any imbalance in supply. The greatest global subsidy in the history of humanity is the military subsidy to secure oil supplies for the U.S. fuels market. If the oil markets were truely free, we would not see housewifes driving Hummers across poorly design sprawling suburbs to buy a gallon of milk. The subsidy of oil has led to the U.S. being adicted to it. As addicts, we fight regulations to curb the byproducts of the combustion oil and are slow to move on technologies that will get us away from it. Dr. Greenspan, having read the Fountainhead by Ayn Rand, I think she would be rolling in her grave to know how much our government is bailing out the status quo big energy companies at the expense of the innovation and change. As a U.S. taxpayer, I am livid about the $1.6 trillion (and counting) expense that will be paid by future Americans to support a totally misguided policy that violates the basic free market principles.

Tyler  10/05/2007 01:14 PM Report

I am not a psychologist, but every now and again, through conjecture, I delude myself into one for a fleeting moment. My conjecture is that Mr. Greenspan, being a man who for years could move hundreds of millions of dollars by his mere utterances, has a grudging respect for others who can do the same by similar or other means. If the trillion dollar projections of the ultimate cost of the war in Iraq turn out to be true, then the Bush-Cheney-Rumsfeld Gang will have successfully pulled off probably the biggest heist â?? I beg your pardon â?? I mean transfer of money in history, from the US Treasury to the hands of a few select individuals, at first with, then later on without, the support of the people. That is quite a feat, whether or not you agree with their murderous ill-advised policies, or the fact that they have done more to damage the prestige of America and the presidency than any adversary could ever dream or accomplish. That is why lately I have developed a respect for the power of fear. Now, sweet Anna, you do make me blush with your tender constitutional confession. Little did you know that your actions were foretelling what we would all witness in the nineties and early in the 21st century: the most powerful man in the world at the time, and the Secret Service, mixing thoughts of defending The Constitution and visits to Burger King or equivalent culinary establishments.

K. Teel  09/25/2007 01:58 PM Report

You picked an interesting guest, in interviewing Greenspam. You masterfully helped reveal some of the human aspects of the man. Unfortunately, most of us are not well veresed in economics, so we have to work with Mr. Greenspams simple analogies (the punch bowl at the party, being one of these.) So, although it was an interesting program, most of us are not in a position to really weight out what is being presented. One thing is for sure though. This type of show always gives the viewer more information (an possibly more questions) than he had before watching it. Good job Charlie.

Ferdinand Gajewski, PhD  09/24/2007 02:49 PM Report

Dick Cheney and Don Rumsfeld are the best things since sliced bread? Everyone makes mistakes? Mr. Greeenspan, I'm afraid, is a senile old goat.

K. Teel  09/23/2007 05:57 AM Report

I have to make an addiontional comment. On reading other people's comments, I have to say that if you see evil in Mr. Greenspam, perhaps you should look at your next door neighbor too. An example of this is the mortgage-scam system. Your neighbor doesn't live within his means. He can't discipline himself to save his money, so he goes to the morgage-scam people and borrows a giant sum of money. With this giant sum of money he purchases a house, effectively raising the cost of housing for all in the neighborhood. He has just set the price of housing astromoncally, artificially high. If he actually had to pay for the house out of his own savings, and thousands of other people just like him did the same thing, houses wouldn't cost nearly as much. After all giant sums of money just wouldn't be available for house purchases, and the prices of houses would follow. But, your neighbor wants to use credit, and millions like him have done the same thing. All of these people are hoping that other sucker will come along and borrow even more money from the the mortgage-scam lenders, to that they can make a profit. Unfortuantley, the price for this behavior is to keep a cycle of inflation well intact, keep the prices of housing outrageously artifically high, and to fund and encourage the mortgage-scam lender (AKA loan sharks.) In short, your neighbor, and millions like him lack self discipline and are self indulgent (check out their credit card debt.) So, if you think that Mr. Greenspam is guilty (I personally don't know if he is), try looking next door to you, you might see his partner in crime.

Jeff  09/23/2007 01:00 AM Report

Bravo Charlie Rose! A wide-ranging interview extremely revealing of Mr. Greenspan's inner character -- a humble and enlightened individual with the wisdom and prudence evidenced in an 18-year run as chairman of the Federal Reserve. Required viewing for those in the back of the cave attending to the shadows of their own self-delusion and Monday morning quarterbacking.

Jay  09/22/2007 12:01 PM Report

It seems ironic that a staunch libertarian who is so opposed to government intervention would support the mother-of-all goverment interventions - the invasion and occupation of Iraq. An intervention which is costing $500 billion of taxpayer money, countless lives lost and is enriching so many corporations, not from the "free" market, but from huge, no-bid government giveaway contracts.

Tobias Brown  09/22/2007 08:13 AM Report

From this interview, Greenspan explains that the Iraq war as a necessity due to the threat Saddam had posed to the flow of oil, that is; he could have invaded and blocked the Strait of Hormuz.

If this occurred, wouldn't the world have stepped up together to open the strait? Would the world have allowed Saddam to block the strait for more than a short period of time?

Greenspan seem to be a Bush apologist, and a very poor one at that. Rose should have been more pointed with his questions and not put Greenspan on such an high pedestal.

David Chowes  09/22/2007 05:11 AM Report

Mr. Greenspan always appeared to me as an enigma! I never understood him when he testified.

I knew only three things: Intereat rate +, or,

- or, unchanged; then financial wizards at CNBC

or Bloomberg would elaborate and, I barely ubderstood; and, he was married to NBC-News reporter Andrea Mitchell.

Mr. Rose: as a child, his obsessions with all sorts of numbers, his passion for baseball and his professional musical career -- WOW! -- I never expected that.

He cited the two most intelligent presidents he had worked for: Nixon and Clinton (though I suspected that for a long time). Nixon was not schizophrenic -- he main psychopathology was paranod personality disorder. But close! Nixon was surely a genuinally scarey man!

And, his negative comment about Bush-43 was NO

SUPRISE! One would have to be an idiot not to be cognizant of the fact that Bush is the worst president in the later half of the 20th century. Maybe, of all time!

And, Mr. Greenspan is certainly no idiot...

In the book, he did not correlate the Iraq War with "WMD," He simply said what most insightful person realize: "OIL!"

Of all the interviews I have seen recently (beginning with "80 Minutes,") with the former Fed chair -- your's, Mr. Rose, was the most revealing. Thank you!

Anna   09/21/2007 07:48 PM Report

Thoroughly enjoyed it and it meant a lot to me to see the interview. I appreciated the "candor in being," if not candor in words, of Mr. Greenspan and quickly felt the shared light and warmth of a kindred spirit. "He is a friend!" I kept thinking, "Thank you to him!" It was a comfort to hear his words and to watch him think as he spoke. And to see him shift modes from conversational to analytical and wholly analytical and back again.

Thank you, Tyler, for likening it to gymnastics--brilliant! It made me picture a balance beam gymnast doing flips back and forth while returning firmly to the beam each time. A slight permutation of your metaphor, but both versions are promising. And then, the idea of doing one thing while skillfully achieving the reverse, in your metaphor - excellent!

I've seen a few interviews with Alan Greenspan this week and to stumble across an interview with Charlie Rose was luxurious frosting on the cake. Savored it like a dog with a bone.

Perhaps I am a geek too! (I believe it was with Diane Sawyer that he jokingly acquiesced to her suggestion of his being such.) Shall add my own confessional - I rivetingly, and with staid devotion, read The Constitution in the dim back seat of the car one evening in Jr. High, even as we headed into a drive-through at Burger King as a family.

Gerald Weber  09/21/2007 07:32 PM Report

This isn't economics that Greenspan espouses, it is his own philosophy. The only reason this economic sham hasn't collapsed yet is because we have been able to sell our debt to foreigners who want our children and their children to pay them back. This isn't logical or even moral if you have half a brain to reason with. Germany suffered severe inflation due to its debt problems after the first World War. This resulted in the rise of Fascism and Communism as people rejected capitalism and its consequences of unemployment coupled with hunger and lack of social services as debt became unserviceable. Hitler and Mussolini weren't philosophers like Greenspan, but rather pragmatists that saw a way out of the capitalistic mess that the markets had created. There will be a price to pay for the debts that Greenspan's economic manipulations have played on the markets. The stock markets that were the economic engines of this economy have been trashed, people have lost their jobs and goods and services which could have been produced in this country are produced in Mexico, China, and other third world debtor countries.

moomee  09/21/2007 01:59 PM Report

Ron Paul Slams Bernanke For Dollar Meltdown

Ron Paul Slams Bernanke For Dollar Meltdown

Paul Joseph Watson

Prison Planet

Thursday, September 20, 2007

Ron Paul has slammed Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke for deliberately depreciating the value of the dollar to artificially bail out Wall Street while poor and middle class people lose their homes and have their living standards lowered.

http://www.prisonplanet.com/articles/september2007/200907_dollar_meltdown.htm

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Brian W.  09/21/2007 01:45 PM Report

I really enjoyed watching your interview of Alan Greenspan last night on KCET. You asked great questions of him. Mr. Greenspan answered most of them pretty well, with the exception of the ones related to Rumsfeld and Cheney being his "most well respected" associates. I find it hard to believe that someone who seems to have a healthy share of humility, would respect those who have proven to be so incredibly arrogant. I understand that people make mistakes, as Mr. Greenspan explained about the Cheney and Rumsfeld's various poor calls. It's the character to admit these mistakes, and to take steps to clean up the mess, that they lack. A democratic republic cannot embrace such arrogant characters. Our leaders must pay more attention to the legacy of America, not their own "stay the course until I may be miraculously proven correct", attitude.

Rumsfeld and Cheney have proven that at some point, political experience and prowess offers dimishing returns for the governed. Once political hands learn the weaknesses in the system, they may exploit them for their party's gain. I don't think that such exploitation is good for America. I grant that Rumsfeld and Cheney are expert at working the system. Again, at some point that becomes a negative.

I also appreciated the fact that Greenspan apperciated that Bernanke's job will be more difficult than his was. I agree that this will be the case. Too bad for Bernanke, and us.

Other than that, Greenspan was impressive in his expression of his thoughts, and I somewhat amended my not-so-stellar opinion of his actions that I'd held. The results of his tenure are still settling out. We'll see how the next few years go. That said, I do find it interesting that Greenspan is working rather feverishly explain why he did certain things as Federal Reserve Chair. It seems to be a preemptive legacy enhancement of sorts. Again, we'll see how it all works out.

Thanks for T.V.'s best interviews.

Brian W.

Tyler Hodgson  09/21/2007 11:35 AM Report

Charlie,

Brilliant. Clone the guy... and the enchanted interview.

It was amazing to watch the dance of erudite and profound thought. I was particularly amused by his ability to perform the mental gymnastics of essentially walking forward backwards.

Notwithstanding his muted protestations and nuanced explanation of the difference between the immediate motivation and the underlying reasons for the war in Iraq, he ended up making an even more forceful case for why the war is about their oil after all.

Paul D Lefebvre  09/21/2007 10:23 AM Report

Your interview with Mr Greenspan was excellent, as is usual of your shows. With regard to the idea that music and math relate, I happened to se on the NPR site this morning, under the heading "Song of the Day", the following: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=14559698

You may also find this interesting.

Thanks for the shows.

T. Barritt  09/21/2007 06:11 AM Report

Nice website Charlie. Often listen a second time to programs I don't absorb completely, so pleased you have archived so many. Love the show;I need the refreshing daily fix to challenge my opinions or form one. Thought Greenspan's wisdom that comes from age showed in his interview so look forward to reading his book. The heart disease health program was excellent, so informative and exciting to see what is on the horizon in that field. Wish more people would take my advice to watch you as I enjoy the ensuing conversations I have with those friends that do watch. May you have many more years of success with PBS and good health. Love that you love France; good culture there, especially food, wine and pace of a day they set, or used to when I was there last. Thanks for all your hard work, excellent guests, and thoughtful conversations.

Roy R. Hartzler  09/21/2007 01:37 AM Report

Alan Greenspan likes to talk of other peoples mistakes. It was his big mistake back around the year 2000 that destroyed me economically. He was going to fight inflation by raising interest rates. I thought raising the price of money was inflation, but beside that, every time he raised rates the stock market took another big hit. I lost my life savings, $50,000+ as a result of Alan's maneuvers. He both, bounced the stock market and the economy. I have never recovered. I had to file bankruptcy recently as a result. I was on the verge of early retirement. I will now probably have to work til the day I die. I am in the process of moving into a dilapidated old farm house, because I couldn't afford the rent at the low income apartment where I have been living. The mistake of this administration was letting Alan Greenspan keep hanging around, and not throwing him in prison for what he did to this country and people like me.

Roy R. Hartzler

ross  09/21/2007 01:16 AM Report

Was funny watching Charlie Rose spending 10 minutes trying to get Greenspan to say that Rumsfeld and Cheney were idiots.

No headlines on that one.

Sorry Charlie!

Phillip Urso Russo  09/21/2007 12:43 AM Report

Mr. Greenspan,

Lost his footing, was nonsensical and mendacious when explaining away his Freudian Slip - Resource war and energy containment.

Eagle Eye

vincent mesisca  09/21/2007 12:30 AM Report

i think it is easy to be an armchair quarterback, and to his benefit, alan greenspan says that he does not have all of the answers. the ones that he does have though, are worth listening to. sometimes it is not what a person only says, but how they convey that message.

Peter Jebara  09/21/2007 12:02 AM Report

It was very frustrating to listen as Allen Greenspan spoke so cautiously. He talks similarly to that of a politician who constantly safeguards their true points of view. I understand their can be a justifiable reason for this but at a time when America needs clarity and candidness from its leaders I am once again let down by another whom I respect.

James Eliopulos  09/20/2007 11:20 PM Report

Charlie don't let Greenspan dance around his complicity re. the mortgage crisis and the deficit. He is trying hard to distance himself from his weakness in the face of Bush's demands / pressures. A bit more truth from Alan and we may have a much beter understanding about how we really got here and how to avoid it the next time.