Alan Greenspan has died as the age of 100.  Greenspan was chair of the Federal Reserve from 1987 to 2006.  He gained attention early on in his career in libertarian circles because of his affiliation with Ayn Rand.

Greenspan wrote one of the best articles on gold, which was published in one of Rand’s books in the 1960s.

I have written multiple times about Greenspan.  In 2017, I drew parallels with Greenspan and Colin Powell, and not in a good way.  Perhaps this is a bit too harsh on Greenspan since Powell’s lies led to about a million deaths in Iraq.

Greenspan is more of a disappointment.  He knew and understood the problems with a central bank.  He understood the benefits of a gold standard as compared to fiat money.  But once he gained power as chair of the Fed, he spent much of his time defending the establishment.  Imagine if he had used his time as Fed chair to promote a return to sound money.

In 2021, I wrote about how Greenspan once said that the Fed could somewhat mimic a gold standard.  The key word was “could”.  Maybe for a year or two, this is true.  But whenever a supposed crisis hits, the Fed is there ready to create new money out of thin air.  With a gold standard, that is not possible.

Greenspan understood in the 1960s that a gold standard was a barrier to government.  The politicians couldn’t easily overspend and run massive deficits with a gold standard.

Conclusion

Alan Greenspan was not a particularly bad Fed chair.  Sure, he gave us the tech bubble of the 1990s, and he gave us the housing bubble of the 2000s, which popped after he left office.  But Greenspan was in there for a long time.  It probably wouldn’t have been much different if Reagan had appointed someone who was thought to be more conventional.

And that’s just the point.  Greenspan had this knowledge, but he didn’t use it for good once he gained significant power.  He was like many politicians except probably smarter.