go," that would require any spending program to be balanced by measures that raise the necessary revenues to finance it. Labor costs have been held down for some time as new workers, from countries like India and China, have joined labor forces and that has kept inflation expectations down. But that won't last forever, Greenspan warned. "The suppression of cost growth and world inflation, at some point, will begin to abate and, with the completion of this level adjustment, gradually end," he commented. It was one of Greenspan's final appearances before Congress and lawmakers praised him for his lengthy tenure. "You have guided monetary policy through stock market crashes, wars, terrorist attacks and natural disasters," JEC Chairman Jim Saxton said. "You have made a great contribution to the prosperity of the U.S. and the nation is in your debt." President George W. Bush has nominated Ben Bernanke, chairman of the White House's Council of Economic Advisers and a former Fed governor, to succeed Greenspan. --SP 2326 Local Time 2026 GMT
