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It is not the responsibility of the Federal Bank – nor would it be appropriate – to protect lenders and investors from the consequences of their decisions

Ben Bernanke

A money-financed tax cut is essentially equivalent to Milton Friedman’s famous ‘helicopter drop’ of money.
BEN BERNANKE

Cutting Helicopters Milton
Economics is a highly sophisticated field of thought that is superb at explaining to policymakers precisely why the choices they made in the past were wrong. About the future, not so much.
BEN BERNANKE

Choices Fields Past
The economic repercussions of a stock market crash depend less on the severity of the crash itself than on the response of economic policymakers, particularly central bankers.
BEN BERNANKE

Bankers Crash Economics
If I am confirmed, I am confident that my colleagues on the Federal Open Market Committee and I will maintain the focus on long-term price stability as monetary policy’s greatest contribution to general economic prosperity and maximum employment.
BEN BERNANKE

Employment Focus Long
The amount of currency in circulation is not changing. The money supply is not changing in any significant way.
BEN BERNANKE

Currency Significant Way
One might as well try to perform brain surgery with a sledgehammer.
BEN BERNANKE

Brain might Trying
The crisis and recession have led to very low interest rates, it is true, but these events have also destroyed jobs, hamstrung economic growth and led to sharp declines in the values of many homes and businesses.
BEN BERNANKE

Growth Home Jobs
If you are asking me if I would advocate that the Chinese go to greater flexibility in their exchange rate, I certainly would.
BEN BERNANKE

Asking Chinese Rate
The U.S. government has a technology, called a printing press (or, today, its electronic equivalent), that allows it to produce as many U.S. dollars as it wishes at essentially no cost.
BEN BERNANKE

Government Technology Wish
The impact on the broader economy and financial markets of the problems in the subprime markets seems likely to be contained.
BEN BERNANKE

Financial Impact Problem
In the future, my communications with the public and with the markets will be entirely through regular and formal channels.
BEN BERNANKE

Communication Formal
The central bank needs to be able to make policy without short term political concerns.
BEN BERNANKE

Able Needs Political
How much would you pay to avoid a second Depression?
BEN BERNANKE

Borrow Depression Great Pay
I don’t fully understand movements in the gold price.
BEN BERNANKE

Gold Movement Price
If you want to understand geology, study earthquakes. If you want to understand the economy, study the Depression.
BEN BERNANKE

Depression Earthquake Want
Indeed, in general, healthy investment returns cannot be sustained in a weak economy, and of course it is difficult to save for retirement or other goals without the income from a job.
BEN BERNANKE

Goal Job Retirement

It is not the responsibility of the Federal Bank – nor would it be appropriate – to protect lenders and investors from the consequences of their decisions

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It is not the responsibility of the Federal Bank – nor would it be appropriate – to protect lenders and investors from the consequences of their decisions

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