The Age of Turbulence - Some anecdotes to laugh about

I was reading Age of Turbulence by Alan Greenspan. I found some really interesting quotes to laugh about....(as such it is tough enough dealing with head-less chickens and heady-chickens and everything in between to add to the miseries of life ;-), why not have a good humour to it)....


Ronald Reagan defending his error on wrong economic speech whereby he used the word "Depression" instead of "recession" during his presidential campaign criticizing the incumbent Jimmy carters economic policies. Carters campaign managers criticized Reagan by saying he does know the definition of the words:

"If it's a definition he wants, I'll give him one," Reagan would continue. "A recession is when your neighbor loses his job. A depression is when you lose yours. And recoveryis when Jimmy Carter loses his!"

Anothe comment by Reagan stating the excesses of the Government policies on the lives of people. Basically, hwe was alluding to the wrong policies of carter that resulted in Inflation:

"Government exists to protect us from each other. Where government has gone beyond its limits is in deciding to protect us from ourselves."

Another exerpt from Alan Greenspans book about his interaction with Ronald Reagan that captures Reagans view of economists:

".....He told one on the airplane that seemed particularly meant for me. It started with Leonid Brezhnev on the reviewing stand at Lenin's Tomb, surrounded by underlings, watching the May Day parade. The Soviet Union's full military might is there on display. First come battalions of elite troops, impressive soldiers, all six foot two; marching in absolute lockstep. Right behind them are phalanxes of stateof-the-art artillery and tanks. Then come the nuclear missiles—it's an awesome show of strength. But after the missiles comes a straggle of six or seven civilians, unkempt, shabbily dressed, utterly out of place. An aide rushes up to Brezhnev and begs forgiveness. "Comrade Secretary, my apologies, I do not know who these people are or how they've come into our parade."
"Do not be concerned, Comrade," replies Brezhnev. "I am responsible for them. They are our economists, and you have no idea how much damage they can do."
"