McTeerisms

On employment
“If you want jobs for jobs’ sake, trade in the bulldozers for shovels. If that doesn’t create enough jobs, replace the shovels with spoons. Heresy! But you know that there will always be more work to do than people to work. So instead of counting jobs, we should make every job count.”
On freedom and free trade
“Forget economics and forget politics for a moment. Freedom to trade is part of freedom. Free trade is part of free enterprise. Are we for freedom or not?
On a tight money policy
“Ironically, it is more appreciated by the public after inflation has gotten out of hand and consequently the correction is more painful, than it is when central bank action is more timely and the correction less painful. Nobody at the party wants the punch bowl taken away, except perhaps the next morning.”
On productivity
“…The fact is that the key feature of the New Economy--what we once called the mysterious X factor--is productivity. Or, more specifically, the acceleration of productivity growth since the mid-1990s.”
On his favorite economists
“My favorite economists these days are Richard Pryor and Yogi Berra. Mr. Pryor once asked, ‘Who are you going to believe? Me or your own lying eyes?’ Yogi is alleged to have said, ‘You can observe a lot just by watching.’”
On temporary work visas
“Yes, let’s take the world’s tired and poor and huddled masses. They have served us well over the years. They are us. But let’s not reject its engineers, scientists and programmers either. Closing the doors now would jeopardize America’s position as the global high-tech leader…”
On being a Ph.D. economist
“… My mother got a phone call shortly after I got my Ph.D. Her friend asked if I was a doctor now. She said, ‘Yes, but not the kind that does anybody any good.’”
On his management style
“I manage like I take a shower. I don’t get in the shower and flip a switch for the right water temperature. I turn the dials until I get the right mix of hot and cold, and I make adjustments as necessary.”