Posts Tagged ‘Bernanke’
Senator David Vitter submitted one of my questions to Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, as part of his reconfirmation hearings, and received the following reply in writing (as already published in the WSJ on-line). Q. Simon Johnson, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and blogger: Andrew Haldane, head of financial stability at the Bank of England, argues that [...]
Firefighter arson is a serious problem. The U.S. Fire Administration, part of Homeland Security, concluded in 2003, “A very small percentage of otherwise trustworthy firefighters cause the very flames they are dispatched to put out” (p.1). Illustrative and shocking anecdotes are on pp. 9-15 of that report, as well as here and here. Macroeconomic policy [...]
The Washington Post is hosting an on-line chat about Ben Bernanke and his likely reappointment as chairman of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors (today, 1pm eastern: use this link to chat). News story on President Obama’s announcement of Bernanke’s renomination this morning, with video of press conference, is here. You can submit questions in advance or [...]
In November 2002, Ben Bernanke apologized – for the Fed’s role in causing the Great Depression of the 1930s. “I would like to say to Milton [Friedman] and Anna [Schwartz]: Regarding the Great Depression. You’re right, we did it. We’re very sorry. But thanks to you, we won’t do it again” (conclusion of this speech). Bernanke’s [...]
Ben Bernanke is opposed to the creation of a new Consumer Financial Protection Agency. Disregarding his organization’s disappointing track record in this regard, he claims that the Fed can handle this issue perfectly well going forward. He thus adds his voice to the cacophony of financial sector lobbyists favoring the status quo. At the same [...]
There has been a lot of talk recently about Ben Bernanke, he of the Wall Street Journal op-ed and the multiple Congressional appearances. (Hey, can anyone put me in touch with his agent?*) At the risk of seeming ignorant (or revealing myself to be ignorant), I must say I don’t really understand what the fuss [...]
Ben Bernanke gave a good speech yesterday, warning about the dangers associated with not putting the federal budget immediately on a path to credible fiscal consolidation. But he didn’t push his points hard enough – see my column, joint with Peter Boone, on the NYT’s Economix this morning. U.S fiscal policies helped break the recent [...]
It may strike you as extraordinary that the G20 summit barely touched on what is, arguably, the key policy issue going forward – what will central banks do, including the detailed when and how of avoiding falling wages and prices (deflation). Fiscal stimulus is already almost fully in play around the world, regulatory reform will at [...]
Here is Ben Bernanke’s problem. 1. The financial sector is busy setting up arrangements in which employees are guaranteed high levels of compensation if they stay on through the difficult days ahead. These retention-type payments allow firms to survive in their existing form, pursue business-as-usual, and gamble for resurrection, i.e., make further risky investments. 2. But these [...]
Stabilization programs in emerging markets often come down to this: the government needs to do something unpopular, e.g., reduce some subsidies, privatize an industry, or eliminate the crazy credit that goes to oligarchs – no one likes oligarchs, but their factories employ a lot of people. There is naturally resistance - pushback from legislators, riots in the streets, or oligarchs [...]
Ben Bernanke spoke at length today on Capitol Hill. But did he say anything? Over in The Guardian’s on-line comment page, James and I suggest an answer. There was nothing new on the big macroeconomic issues of the age. And on banking, we remain disappointed…
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Still No To Bernanke
January 6, 2010 in Commentary
Tags: Bernanke
We first expressed our opposition to the reconfirmation of Ben Bernanke as chairman of the Fed on December 24th and again here on Sunday. Since then a wide range of smart economists have argued – at the American Economic Association meetings in Atlanta - that Bernanke should be allowed to stay on. I’ve heard at least six distinct points. [...]