“This is a once-in-a-half-century, probably once-in-a-century type of event. I think the argument has got to be that there are certain types of institutions which are so fundamental to the functioning of the movement of savings into real investment in an economy that on very rare occasions — and this is one of them — it’s desirable to prevent them from liquidating in a sharply disruptive manner.”
Alan Greenspan in the New York Times
I think that Greenspan’s quote hits at a cause for real fear: if the institutions that shepherd money into the businesses that drive growth in the economy cease to exist, the economy will cease to exist. With AIG on the ropes, many of the largest institutions that facilitate liquidity to drive growth are in dire straits. This week is sure to be an interesting one.
