Born on this day in 1926, Alan Greenspan served on the US Federal Reserve board of governors from 1987 to the 2006, under presidents Reagan, Bush, Clinton and Bush, the chairman reappointed after each four year term and advising on monetary policy. 
Despite a subdued public demeanour, the press accorded the long serving economist celebrity status as a strong advocate for international trade, though he courted many critics who cite his low interest rates and increased cash supply for creating the dot-com bubble and the subprime mortgage crisis that lead to worldwide recession—occurring shortly after he left office—and blame Greenspan for encouraging George W Bush to reengage Iraq and depose Saddam Hussein for the sake of stability in the global oil supply. A fan and personal friend of objectivist philosopher Ayn Rand, Greenspan dated anchor woman Barbara Walters in the late 1970s and is married to journalist Andrea Mitchell (matrimonial ceremony officiated by Ruth Bader Ginsburg) and currently runs a financial consulting firm with several honorary posts with investment banks.
synchronoptica
one year ago: assorted links worth revisiting (with synchronopticรฆ) plus dismantling the US department of education
thirteen years ago: folk-neuroscience
fourteen years ago: slow news days
fifteen years ago: a trip to Fulda
sixteen years ago: the US census
