Alan Greenspan's" The Age of Turbulence" in the real world

Washington Post, September 15, 2007 page A1,A7:Greenspan argues that deficits must matter and that uncontrolled government spending and borrowing can produce high inflation and economic devastation. My comment: Look at the empirical evidence apropos of War in Iraq and Afghanistan. Greenspan maintains that immigration reform, by opening up the United States to the world's very large and growing pool of skilled workers will help reduce the inequality of incomes. My comment: Both the United States and China do need the training of skilled workers in short supply. Apprenticeship would be timely and useful in coordination with community colleges as elaborated in "Keys for Economic Undestanding" for USA but collaboration with China would be in the best interests of both nations. Greenspan shows a flash of hope at the end of his memoir. "Adaptation is in our nature, a fact that leads me to be deeply optimistic about our future." He offers a graduate education in global economics with detailed analysis of the global economy and the prospects in Japan, China, Russia, India et al. In Italy, pasta prices have risen as much as 20% this year. My comment: US and China do have common problems such as rising prices for staples in grocery bills due to higher wheat prices. (page D1,D3) For every extra dollar spent on groceries, a dollar less will be spent on discretionary items like clothes and entertainment and other purchases that fuel overall economic growth. At a time of uncertainty over the housing market,stock market and jobs, consumers are more acutely aware of inflation leading to recession i.e. Consumption sector occupies roughly one third of GDP. Let us watch FED policy to reduce rate on Tuesday,September 18, 2007. Francis Shieh,a lifelong student of economics. September 15, 2007