Yep that is correct.
His soultion would:
"Significantly opening up immigration to skilled workers solves
two problems," he said. The companies could hire the educated
workers they need. And those workers would compete with
high-income people, driving more income equality, he said.
In other words WAGE DEPRESSION folks.
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Greenspan: U.S. economy on edge of recession
08:58 PM CST on Thursday, February 14, 2008
By ELIZABETH SOUDER / The Dallas Morning News esouder@dallasnews.com
HOUSTON - Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said the U.S. is on
the edge of recession.
The mortgage crisis and high energy prices are weighing on the economy. And
if Congress caps carbon dioxide emissions, that could make things worse.
"I think we're clearly on the edge," Mr. Greenspan said at the Cambridge
Energy Research Associates annual conference. The chance of a recession is
"50 percent or better."
One thing the country could do to improve things is to allow more
immigration of skilled workers.
"Significantly opening up immigration to skilled workers solves two
problems," he said. The companies could hire the educated workers they need.
And those workers would compete with high-income people, driving more income
equality, he said.
Mr. Greenspan said the country would already be in a recession if companies
weren't in such good financial shape before the mortgage crisis hit. Most
companies don't have much need for credit, and haven't been hit hard by the
credit squeeze.
But he expects the mortgage problem to persist until housing prices
stabilize. And that won't likely happen until the inventory of new homes
dries up.
"I think we have a long way to go," he said.
Mr. Greenspan said the country isn't facing stagflation just now, or the
combination of inflation and a declining economy.
Still, he said, rising oil prices are a burden, particularly in parts of the
world that use energy less efficiently than the U.S. economy. Here, U.S.
companies are having to spend more money on energy efficiency programs,
diverting money from other things.
Capping the amount of greenhouse gases the country may emit could make
things more difficult he said, even though climate change is real. The cap
that Congress is considering could lower economic activity and cause
unemployment, he said.
"I don't think there's been enough discussion about what we mean by cap,"
he said. "There's a presumption, well, we'll solve every problem by new
technology. I wish that were true."
One technology that Mr. Greenspan endorses to address climate change is
nuclear power. Nuclear plants don't emit carbon dioxide when operating,
though Mr. Greenspan acknowledged concern about storing nuclear waste
safely.
When asked what type of fuel the power generation companies should use, Mr.
Greenspan said: "Oh, simple. They're going to have to use nuclear."
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