Greenspan Says Oil Costs Starting to Pinch Economy

Apparently only now just waking from a long nap, former Fed chairman Alan Greenspan said that high-priced energy ? specifically oil ? is starting to affect the U.S. economy. Reuters is covering the story.

“The United States, especially, has been able to absorb the huge implicit tax of rising oil prices so far,” Greenspan told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in his first congressional testimony since leaving the U.S. central bank at the end of January. “However, recent data indicate we may finally be experiencing some impact.”

It?s the words ?starting? and ?finally? that rankle, as if up until now Greenspan has arrived everywhere via unicorn or magic carpet.

Greenspan wasn?t all behind-the-times doom and gloom. “Current oil prices over time should lower to some extent our worrisome dependence on petroleum,” said Greenspan, who now runs a private consultancy. “Still higher oil prices will inevitably move vehicle transportation to hybrids, and despite the inconvenience, plug-in hybrids,” he added.

To read the rest of Greenspan?s prognostications from yesteryear, go to Greenspan Says Oil Costs Starting to Pinch Economy.