There is a time for weighing evidence and a time for acting. And if there's one thing I've learned throughout my work in finance, government, and conservation, it is to act before problems become too big to manage.
Henry PaulsonRead
No matter how the financial system is set up, no matter what the economic system is, as long as you have people, you're going to have financial crises; you're going to have bubbles that manifest themselves in the financial system.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Financial crises are an inevitable part of any economic system due to human behavior.
Henry Paulson's quote emphasizes that regardless of the structure of financial or economic systems, human nature and behavior will always lead to financial crises and bubbles. This suggests that the complexities of human decision-making and emotional responses to market conditions are significant factors in the cyclical nature of financial markets, indicating that crises are not solely a result of systemic flaws but are inherent to the presence of people in these systems.
Themes
Financial CrisesEconomic SystemsHuman BehaviorBubblesMarkets
In practice
Example use cases
In a lecture discussing economic patterns, one might refer to this quote to illustrate the inevitability of market fluctuations.
More from Henry Paulson
All quotes →In all my life, I've been trained that when there's a big problem, you run toward it.
Henry PaulsonRead
Complexity and interconnectedness matter as much as size in assessing risk in banking.
Henry PaulsonRead
Every global concern - economic, environmental or security-related - can be addressed more effectively when the U.S. and China work together.
Henry PaulsonRead
I think history shows that countries have to have some kind of a threshold level of economic success before they begin to have the means and the will to focus on the environment.
Henry PaulsonRead
I've always said to everyone that ever worked for me, if you get too dug in on a position, the facts change, and you don't change to adapt to the facts, you will never be successful.
Henry PaulsonRead
Similar quotes
If workers are more insecure, that's very 'healthy' for the society, because if workers are insecure, they won't ask for wages, they won't go on strike, they won't call for benefits; they'll serve the masters gladly and passively. And that's optimal for corporations' economic health.
Noam ChomskyRead
Capitalism and market forces are very powerful in producing wealth and innovation. But we need to ensure that these forces act in the common interest.
Thomas PikettyRead
The gold standard did not collapse. Governments abolished it in order to pave the way for inflation. The whole grim apparatus of oppression and coercion, policemen, customs guards, penal courts, prisons, in some countries even executioners, had to be put into action in order to destroy the gold standard.
Ludwig Von MisesRead
If anything, taxes for the lower and middle class and maybe even the upper-middle class should even probably be cut further. But I think that people at the high end - people like myself - should be paying a lot more in taxes. We have it better than we've ever had it.
Warren BuffettRead
When the word 'morality' comes up in connection with economics, income distribution and financial stability are usually the issues. Is it moral for rich countries to use such a high proportion of the world's resources or for investment bankers to earn large bonuses?
Edmund PhelpsRead
It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest.
Adam SmithRead