Greenspan Is Ready to Turn On the Inflation Machine

Let's see: The same day Alan Greenspan made the key distinction between economic expansion vs. recovery, the House passed a stimulus package bill that looks likely to be approved by the Senate. Meanwhile, the dollar tumbled and bond yields jumped. But I'm crazy to be worried about inflation?

OK, maybe I am crazy, or was so early arriving at the concerned-about-inflation party as to be rude. But rather than dwell on the past, let's look toward the future, or at least at the present.

In today's testimony -- the second half of his semiannual report to Congress -- Greenspan said "recent evidence increasingly suggests that an economic expansion is already well under way." Additionally, the Fed has "seen encouraging signs in recent days that underlying trends in final demand are strengthening," although the Fed chieftain cautioned that the dimensions of the pickup "remain uncertain." ...