ABSTRACT
Alan Greenspan was recruited as Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers by Richard Nixon, but served in that role entirely under Gerald Ford. Greenspan’s nomination was before the Senate when Nixon resigned in August of 1974, but Ford quickly renominated him. The meetings allowed economists, labor, business, and various special interests to air their disagreements about the proper cures for the country’s economic ills and, in the process, educate the public about the grim economic reality. As an ardent advocate of laissez-faire, Greenspan criticized continued intervention by the government in the economy, even going so far as to oppose antitrust laws, the progressive income tax, consumer protection legislation, and subsidies. President Ford agreed with Greenspan’s focus on the inflation problem, declaring it “Public Enemy Number One” when he addressed a joint session of Congress on August 12 on the state of the economy.
