Orszag Quotes

#1. Every day is like that, eight successive meetings on eight different topics, every one really important and interesting.

Peter Orszag

#2. You played it with great seriousness. And it is not such an uncommon game. Do you know Ibsen's poem
To live it to do battle with trolls
in the vaults of the heart and brain.
To write: that is to sit
in judgement over one's self.

Robertson Davies

#3. Reflections on Careers in Quantitative Finance

Carnegie Mellon's Steve Shreve is out with an interesting post on careers in quantitative finance, with his commentary on the changing landscape in quantitative research and the implications for financial education.

Paul Ellis

#4. The thing that I really love about the 80s is, there was a sense of hand made-ness about the fashion then. You could have a pair of jeans and dump some bleach on them, and make them something that was really trendy for that era.

Alyssa Milano

#5. Well, a deficit reflects an imbalance between spending and revenue, and so narrowing it requires acting on one, the other or both.

Peter Orszag

#6. Total borrowing has imploded. Private borrowing has collapsed. And, in effect, the Treasury Department is the last borrower left standing.

Peter Orszag

#7. The fact of the matter is right now politicians and insurance companies are making decisions. We're saying we want doctors to be making decisions. And I think that will lead to a higher-quality, lower-cost system over time.

Peter Orszag

#8. Defense spending as a share of the economy dropped significantly during the early 1990s, and that was one of the things, along with other policy changes, that put us back on the path to a balanced budget.

Peter Orszag

#9. How do you stand out as a fashion ad campaign? By using people off the street; it does generate buzz.

Alber Elbaz

#10. There've been times where I wondered whether it was worth continuing in my own education.

Peter Orszag

#11. Well, I think what we need to remember is that budget deficits can impede economic activity.

Peter Orszag

#12. People and land need healing which is all inclusive - holistic.

Allan Savory

#13. I'm sorry to say I'm very lizard-like. My skin is dry, so covering my face in greasy antioxidants is a better alternative.

Sally Phillips

#14. My mom is a very warm, typical sort of Jewish-mother type. And my dad has a somewhat, um, different personality.

Peter Orszag

#15. Facebook is all about information and helping people share it.

Mark Zuckerberg

#16. If you didn't auction the [CO2] permits, it would represent the largest corporate welfare program that has ever been enacted in the history of the United States. All of the evidence is that what would occur is that corporate profits would increase by approximately the value of the permits.

Peter R. Orszag

#17. It is a foregone opportunity that we could have a trillion dollars more of income for the United States if we were producing at capacity rather than falling so far short of it.

Peter Orszag

#18. Honestly, why do boys always think they know what's best for us? Why can't they just talk?" "I've often wondered the same, darling," Leanansidhe sighed. "It's one of the mysteries of the universe, trust me.

Julie Kagawa

#19. Never get involved in a land war in Asia. Never fight a battle of wits when iocane powder is involved. And never, never, never, never, never, never, never let the New Republic's editors choose the headline for your article.

Brad De Long

#20. Something that's unsustainable, like a dysfunctional relationship, can go on longer than you expect, and then end faster and messier than you think.

Peter R. Orszag

#21. The most important thing for small businesses is getting the economy back on its feet. That - the key driver of small business activity is demand for their product, and that is what we are trying to do, getting the economy back on its feet. That's far more important than other factors.

Peter Orszag

#22. For example, I was privileged to be working at the White House under the Clinton administration and had not finished my Ph.D., and I thought I was the cat's meow.

Peter Orszag