Henry Paulson Quotes

I'm a straightforward person. I like to be direct with people.

I don't see (subprime mortgage market troubles) imposing a serious problem. I think it's going to be largely contained.

It's a safe banking system, a sound banking system. Our regulators are on top of it. This is a very manageable situation.

Our overriding goal in restructuring our financial architecture should be that taxpayers never again have to save a failing financial institution.

There's always light at the end of the tunnel, right? It just depends on how long the tunnel is.

I never once considered that it was appropriate to put taxpayer money on the line in resolving Lehman Brothers.

In just about every area of society, there's nothing more important than ethics.

Economic growth and environmental protection are not at odds. They're opposite sides of the same coin if you're looking at longer-term prosperity.

Every global concern - economic, environmental or security-related - can be addressed more effectively when the U.S. and China work together.

As a Christian Scientist, I don't go to doctors and get diagnoses.

As a child, I could beat most kids in sprints, but overall, wrestling was the most natural sport for me. In fact, I was a pretty good high school wrestler. I was unusually quick and strong.

China saves too much, produces too much, sells too much to Americans and consumes too little.

I have relied on prayer for health care all of my life.

When you have a big, ugly problem, there's never going to be a neat, elegant solution that is totally painless or without a cost.

Regulation needs to catch up with innovation.

Even if you don't have the authorities - and frankly I didn't have the authorities for anything - if you take charge, people will follow.

I believe that the root cause of every financial crisis, the root cause, is flawed government policies

The first priority is to make sure we have capital to continue to have capital available to put into the financial system. That's the first priority.

I didn't get the charm gene.

I think all governments engage in intelligence gathering vis-a-vis other governments.

China needs a currency that reflects underlying economic fundamentals.

Buying a home today is a complex process, but that in no way excuses home buyers from their obligation for due diligence.

The most pressing and significant problems in the global economy are unsustainable structural issues with regard to the E.U. - fiscal deficits and the structure of the E.U. itself.

Payment systems are critically important for overall market stability. On a typical business day, U.S. payment and settlement systems settle transactions valued at over $13 trillion.

I understand how important the automakers are to America. And I understand a bankruptcy; a failure in that industry wouldn't be a good thing. It's something we should avoid.

I don't think a bankruptcy is a good thing.

Anticompetitive practices hurt Chinese private firms nearly as much as foreign ones.

What I've said repeatedly is, 'I think the auto industry is a very important industry.'

The U.S. didn't save enough; we borrowed a lot. There were structural imbalances in Asia with exporters, with oil exporters for a whole variety of things.

A Fed loan to Lehman Brothers would not have prevented a bankruptcy.

The worst is likely to be behind us.

U.S. exports to China have more than quintupled since China entered the WTO and have grown more quickly than imports. In fact, China is America's fastest-growing export market.

I see the underlying economy as being very healthy.

One of the most constant aspects of American life is change - and nowhere is it more evident than in our financial markets.

It is the policy of the federal government to use all resources at its disposal to make our financial system stronger.

In China, export lobbies have fought for policies that favor their interests and limit foreign competition.

One of the things I enjoy the most is fishing.

As the Indian government has embraced greater economic openness, the creativity and expertise of the Indian workforce has been unleashed onto the world economic stage.

China and the U.S. are the two largest importers of oil. They are the two largest emitters of carbon.

In terms of the overall economy, we've got challenges and the big focus has got to be on recovery, on repair, and that's going to take a while.

There are some things that you can work on immediately.

There is a very real danger that financial regulation will become a wolf in sheep's clothing.

I've always said, 'I don't want to be irrelevant.'

There's a lot of things we could do better.

There is no way to stabilize the markets other than through government intervention.

An open, competitive, and liberalized financial market can effectively allocate scarce resources in a manner that promotes stability and prosperity far better than governmental intervention.