On 1 February 1992, Dr. Greenspan was reappointed to the Board to a full 14-year term which ends 31 January 2006. He has served through the Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Clinton, and George W. Bush presidential terms for a tenure that has lasted for eighteen years. Eighteen years! He began his service two years before my daughter was born and he's served a little under half my lifespan?ok - I'll admit that last comparison is a bit of an exaggeration, but you get my point. Greenspan has become a public fixture, and while many folks might relish the changing of the guard, others might quiver with fear over thoughts of what a new chairman might bungle.

According to documentation provided by the Federal Reserve Board, Greenspan originally took office as Chairman to fill an unexpired term as a member of the Board on 11 August 1987. At that time, he replaced Paul Volcker, a man best known for his influence on ending the U.S. inflation during the early 1980s by constricting the money supply through sharp increase in interest rates. Inflation in 1980 hovered at 9 percent, but was lowered to 3.2 percent by 1983. For those of you who remember this rocky time, unemployment rose and a recession was in place. However, Volcker's decisions reversed the situation, and interest rates were lowered once the economy normalized.

Dr. Greenspan picked up where Volcker left off, and while some speculators credit him with the Fed's focus on price stability, other analysts state that he simply lucked out. However, most all pundits agree that Greenspan evoked confidence in one governmental branch when that same confidence has fluctuated across all other political fronts during the past two decades. He seemed to magically make the 1987 stock market plunge appear minor, and in the late 1990s he resisted interest rate hikes and helped the economy thrive despite major shifts in this country from a manufacturing base to a service-oriented economy.

While Greenspan's advocates and detractors ponder his economic achievements, I'd like to take you on a short tour on how this man's activities contributed to our economy today:

1. Born in New York City in 1926, Greenspan is known as an accomplished saxophone player and he studied at Julliard for a year between 1943 and 1944. He then toured with Henry Jerome and his orchestra, a renowned swing ensemble. During the 50s and 60s, Greenspan's first wife, artist Joan Mitchell, introduced him to the Objectivist movement promoted by Ayn Rand. Greenspan became active in this philosophical trend, which promotes laissez-faire capitalism as the only righteous moral system. NOTE: On the up side, music has close connections with mathematics, and philosophy and art are essential components to a well-rounded and educated personality. On the down side, Greenspan's critics state that he didn't adhere to the philosophical laissez-faire side of town with his pragmatism and political instincts.
   
   
2. Outside philosophy, Greenspan had to study economic realities to achieve his current position. How he managed to receive a Ph.D. in Economics without completion of a dissertation is beyond me, but New York University granted this accolade to him in 1977 after he received a B. S. in Economics summa cum laude in 1948 and an M.A. in Economics in 1950 from the same university. Then, before he graduated, he served as chairman for the Council of Economic Advisors under Gerald Ford from 1974 to 1977. NOTE: On the up side, Greenspan is the ideal candidate for what one can achieve scholastically through extracurricular activities. On the down side, critics state that he didn't achieve economic success as much as he acquired political savvy.
   
   
3. While Dr. Greenspan emits a shy and nerdish demeanor on TV, he's known for his willingness to sport an active nightlife in Washington D. C. In 1997 he chose Andrea Mitchell, the Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent for NBC News whom he had dated for over a decade and who is twenty years his junior, as his second wife. NOTE: If nothing else, two "Mitchell marriages" within one lifetime seems to support the theory that Greenspan is at least consistent. On the down side, critics snicker about age discrepancies and they also wonder how journalism and economics mix at home and how this mix might play out in the public.

While Greenspan stands as an example of a life well-lived to some, to others he seems to exemplify how a person can slip through political and economic hoops when luck is on his side. Either way, the man (yes, it will most likely be a man) who attempts to fill Greenspan's shoes will have one hard road to hoe, as they say in the hills. While the transition might seem fraught with uncertainty, remember that long-term investors hang tough with their investments. Frankly, I look forward to the show.

Until Next Week,
Linda Goin