One curiosity of this economic slowdown is that Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan is trying to talk the country through it. The idea of Greenspan as a national therapist seems absurd, and yet it's true. For roughly 18 months he has engaged in the quiet exercise of confidence building. Even as the Fed has raised interest rates (in 1999 and 2000) to pre-empt inflation and cut them (this year) to prevent recession, he has consistently laced his speeches and congressional testimony with glowing appraisals of new technologies and the country's long-term prospects.
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