Container Top
Homes   Jobs   Cars   Shopping
Search

Events Calendar

EVENT SEARCH:

In This Section


Most Read Stories


Blogs:


Pets:
Cat-loving chihuahua suckles seven abandoned kittens

The Heldenfiles:
Sunday Notebook

Patrick McManamon:
Browns sick after sick loss in Detroit

Akron Zips:
Zips advance to Sweet Sixteen

Tribe Matters:
Seven players added to Tribe’s 40-man roster

Cleveland Browns:
Post-game defensive quotes

Kent State Sports:
Kent State defeats Rochester College, 63-44

Cleveland Cavaliers:
Gameblog: Cavs vs. Philadelphia 76ers

Buckeye Blogging:
OSU – Michigan college football rivals meet in Baghdad

Varsity Letters:
Four area football teams play tonight

All Da King's Men:
Blog of Mass Destruction:
Will Health Care Reform Pass?

Akron Law Café:
Health Care Financing Reform: (70) Savings in Medicare Advantage

See Jane Style:
Vintage Chic

Car Chase:
TIME TO GET YOUR COLLECTOR CARS WINTERIZED

Let's Talk Real Estate:
Faye Dunaway to be Evicted?

Ohio Travels with Betty:
Monique asks how to get tickets for the Polar Express.

Sound Check:
Steely Dan Plays "The Royal Scam" at E.J. Thomas Hall

HRLite House:
Personal Rant – You are All Wrong About Jobs, or the Lack of Jobs, Being the Reason People Do Not Live in NEO

Akron Gamer:
Nintendo's Mario endures even as games come and go

Battered Ben Bernanke

Some thanks for rescuing the economy

On Thursday, Ben Bernanke received a hammering on Capitol Hill. Democratic and Republican members of the House Committee on Oversight and Governmental Reform showed little deference to the chairman of the Federal Reserve Board. They dished outrage, leaped to interrupt and hurled accusations. Watching the performance, the thought came to mind: Too bad they weren't as skeptical and suspicious of Alan Greenspan.

Much of the concern focused on the Fed's role in bringing together Bank of America and the faltering Merrill Lynch at the start of the year. Republicans pounded the theme of a heavy-handed Bernanke, too eager to intervene in private markets, even threatening bank leadership. Democrats largely fixed on the lack of transparency, alarmed at the Fed making dramatic moves with scant accountability.

At the witness table, Bernanke appeared hesitant at times, seemingly uncertain whether to engage in a sustained argument or let lawmakers vent their frustration. He did insist that no such threats were issued and that the Fed acted with the ''highest integrity.''

No question, Bernanke erred in anticipating the debacle on Wall Street (along with many others). He argued for too long that the fundamentals of the economy were sound. When the crisis hit? Bernanke reacted forcefully. He mobilized the resources of the Federal Reserve to prevent an economic calamity, applying lessons learned from the Great Depression.

Consider the extraordinary steps initiated by Bernanke to blunt the credit meltdown. The Fed expanded its role in providing short-term liquidity to banks and other financial institutions. It moved to bolster directly borrowers and investors in key credit markets. The Fed took the further step of purchasing longer-term securities for its portfolio, including up to $1.25 trillion in mortgage-backed securities.

All of this ensured that the lifeblood of the economy continued to flow. Ben Bernanke deserves a pummeling? Not in the context of rescuing the economy.

On Thursday, Ben Bernanke received a hammering on Capitol Hill. Democratic and Republican members of the House Committee on Oversight and Governmental Reform showed little deference to the chairman of the Federal Reserve Board. They dished outrage, leaped to interrupt and hurled accusations. Watching the performance, the thought came to mind: Too bad they weren't as skeptical and suspicious of Alan Greenspan.

Get the full article here.


Story tools

Email  Email   Print  Print   Save  Save   Reprint  Reprint   Popular  Most Popular   Reprint  Subscribe

Share this story

AddThis Social Bookmark Button
















Most Commented Stories