The Age of the Unthinkable

the logic of economist Raghuram Rajan, who argued in 2004 that a Fed policy of constantly fighting for economic growth was limiting the ability of the financial system to develop tools to deal with crisis and slowdown. “Perhaps Chairman Greenspan should be faulted for allowing only two mild recessions during his tenure,” he wrote. “And perhaps we can sleep better at night if we pray, ‘Lord, if there be shocks, let them be varied and preferably moderate ones, so we can stress test our systems.’” This is deep security.