Time on "the committee to save the world" (1999)

Greenspan has a theory about what holds them together: "In analytical people self-esteem relies on the analysis and not on the conclusions." That must be it. The three men have a mania for analysis that has bred a rigorous, unique intellectual honesty. In the Reagan Administration economic policymaking was guided not by analysis but by conclusions--specifically a belief in so-called supply-side economics. No matter what the data showed, the results among Reagan-era economists like Arthur Laffer were always the same: tax cuts and less regulation were the solution. Rubin, Greenspan and Summers have outgrown ideology. Their faith is in the markets and in their own ability to analyze them. "It's unusual," Greenspan says. "In Washington usually you come to the table, and everyone meets, and no one changes their mind. But with us, you have something else."

This pragmatism is a faith that recalls nothing so much as the objectivist philosophy of the novelist and social critic Ayn Rand (The Fountainhead, Atlas Shrugged), which Greenspan has studied intently. During long nights at Rand's apartment and through her articles and letters, Greenspan found in objectivism a sense that markets are an expression of the deepest truths about human nature and that, as a result, they will ultimately be correct.

~ Time, "The Committee to Save the World," (a.k.a. "The Three Marketeers"), February 15, 1999, by Joshua Cooper Ramo

BusinessWeek: Robert Rubin collects $118 million in pay at Citigroup

Even once-revered former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin, who, according to compensation data tracker Equilar, collected $118 million in pay between 1999 and 2006 while serving as director and senior counselor at Citigroup, has taken some heat.

~ BusinessWeek, "Bailout Money Could Have More Strings Attached," January 26, 2009

Karen De Coster and Eric Englund on the political makeup of Fannie Mae's Board

It is interesting to note that past and present Board members of Fannie Mae — some of whom are appointed by the president — have been highly representative of the Beltway elite: a former Reagan chief of staff, lobbyists, a former aide to Nixon, a Reagan Secretary of Labor, a US trade representative, and a top economic advisor to President Bush.

(Footnote. Naming names: Kenneth M. Duberstein, a lobbyist and former chief of staff to President Ronald Reagan; Frederick Malek, an investor and former aide to President Richard Nixon; Ann McLaughlin Korologos, a former secretary of labor under Reagan; Stephen Friedman, formerly President George W. Bush's top economic adviser and former co-chairman of Goldman Sachs with Robert Rubin; Robert Zoellick, US trade representative.)

~ Karen De Coster and Eric Englund, "Fannie Mae: Another New Deal Monstrosity," Mises.org, July 2, 2007

Bloomberg: Robert Rubin paid over $150 million working for Citigroup

[Robert] Rubin has been criticized by investors including Smith Asset Management's William Smith for collecting more than $150 million in pay in a decade while failing to steer [Citigroup's former CEO Chuck] Prince away from subprime mortgage securities that led to $17.4 billion of net losses in the past three quarters.

~ Bloomberg, "Citigroup Says Robert Rubin to Give Up Committee Role," August 25, 2008, by Bradley Keoun

Robert Rubin on the credit crunch: "I don’t know of anyone who foresaw a perfect storm"

Rubin: People know I was concerned about the markets. Clearly, there were things wrong. But I don’t know of anyone who foresaw a perfect storm, and that’s what we’ve had here.

I don’t feel responsible, in light of the facts as I knew them in my role.

Q: But did he make mistakes?

Rubin: I’ve thought a lot about that. I honestly don’t know. In hindsight, there are a lot of things we’d do differently. But in the context of the facts as I knew them and my role, I’m inclined to think probably not.

There is no way you would know what was going on with a risk book unless you’re directly involved with the trading arena. We had highly experienced, highly qualified people running the operation.

~ Robert Rubin, "Where was the Wise Man," NY Times, April 27, 2008

Robert Rubin: No one foresaw the financial crisis

Asked for the views on the origins of the financial market turmoil, [Robert] Rubin said it was a "confluence" of a series of events that no one foresaw.

A 3-4 year period where the markets under priced risk, some unsound financial engineering that created AAA rated complex securities and a large increase in housing prices "all came together," he said.

It has been much broader and lasted much longer than anyone imagined, he said.

Asked when the crisis might subside, Rubin replied: "I have no idea."

He said there shouldn't be "any let up" by economic policymakers working on solving the crisis.

~ MarketWatch, "Rubin: Unsound Bush fiscal policy hampering crisis relief; Former Treasury Secretary blasts White House for weak dollar," April 14, 2008, by Greg Robb