I was a good amateur but only an average professional. I soon realized that there was a limit to how far I could rise in the music business, so I left the band and enrolled at New York University.

But rules cannot substitute for character.

Amateurs want to be right. Professionals want to make money.

The United States can pay any debt it has because we can always print money to do that. So there is zero probability of default.

I do not deny that many appear to have succeeded in a material way by cutting corners and by manipulating associates, both in their professional and in their personal lives. But material success is possible in this world and far more satisfying when it comes without exploiting others.

Improvements in lending practices driven by information technology have enabled lenders to reach out to households with previously unrecognized borrowing capacities.

Credit-default swaps, I think, have serious problems associated with them.