How will you spend your Thanksgiving break?
Tisch Hall's Paulson Auditorium was packed last night as NYU Stern Alumni Alan Greenspan and John Paulson spoke about their experiences and gave their insights on politics and the economy.
Greenspan began the conversation with a reminder that graduating from an academic institution is "only the beginning." To support this, Paulson then highlighted Greenspan's illustrious career in the public sector.
Greenspan commended all the presidents with whom he had worked, particularly Gerald Ford.
However, the conversation soon turned from politics to the current economic climate.
Greenspan brought up the fateful day in September 2008 when the Dow Jones industrial average plunged 6.98 percent. However, life picked up for him after the initial shock.
"The morning after we learned of the news," he said, "I was able to look myself in the mirror and say, 'Hey, not bad.'"
According to Paulson, the recovery process has been rather "tepid." Greenspan attributed the slow recovery to excessive government activism.
"What I'd suggest is that we calm down; let the economy heal by itself," he said. "But we are doing better now with the halting of more stimului and programs like 'Cash for Clunkers."
Greenspan also emphasized that the future health of the housing sector would depend on the phasing out of "contradictory" government-instilled institutions like Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, whose objective of providing affordable housing conflicted with the necessity to "maximize profit for shareholders."
The interview wrapped up with a question the majority of the audience was anxious to have answered.
"There is general worry about the decline in U.S. economic global leadership," Paulson said. "Do you still have confidence in the future of the United States?"
Greenspan responded: "Whenever I get gloomy, I think of Winston Churchill: 'America always does the right things ... after it has tried every other viable alternative."
Students gained insight from the two alumnus, but left the event wanting more.
"I wished the questions could have been unique and that there would be more discussion, but I definitely enjoyed this opportunity to see him in person," second year MBA student Henry Chen said.
Stern junior Dane Viljoen agreed, saying that more time should have been dedicated to solving present-day problems.
"I liked the anecdotes he told about the presidents," she said. "But there was too much focus on the past, and not enough on the present or the future."
