Greenspan's true colors

["Charles Brown" <CharlesB@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

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The Progressive
September 2001

Greenspan's True Colors

At a House Financial Services Committee hearing on July 18, Federal
Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan said he was in favor of eliminating the
minimum wage.  Under direct questioning from Bernie Sanders, the socialist
and independent from Vermont, Greenspan owned up.

Sanders:  My understanding is, unless you have changed your view, that
you are opposed to raising the minimum wage, which is today at a
disastrously low $5.15 an hour.  So I'd like you to tell us if you think that a
working person or a family can live on $5.15 an hour . . . Can you tell the
American people why you think not raising the minimum wage, maintaining a
disastrous trade policy, and giving huge tax breaks for the rich works for the
benefit of the average American?

Greenspan:  Certainly.

Sanders:  I and millions would love to hear it.

Greenspan: . . . With respect to the minimum wage, the reason I object
to the minimum wage is I think it destroys jobs.  And I think the evidence
on that, in my judgment, is overwhelming.  Consequently, I am not in favor
of cutting anybody's earnings or preventing them from rising, but I am
against them losing their jobs because of artificial government intervention,
which is essentially what the minimum wage is.  So it is not an issue of
whether, in fact, I'm for or against people getting more money.  I am strongly
in favor of real incomes rising, and, indeed, that's the central focus of
where I would come out.

Sanders:  Are you for abolishing the minimum wage?

Greenspan:  I would say that if I had my choice, the answer is, of
course.

Sanders:  You would abolish the minimum wage?

Greenspan:  Well, I would, yes.  Because if what I say is accurate,
then the minimum wage does no good to the level of . . .

Sanders:  And you would allow employers to pay workers today $2 an hour
if the circumstances provided that?

Greenspan:  The problem is that they will not be paying $2 an hour
because they won't be able to get people.

I spoke with Sanders the next day, and he was still stunned by
Greenspan's comments.  "I had always known that Greenspan was a rightwing
Republican, but frankly how far right did surprise me," Sanders said.