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If you want to understand geology, study earthquakes. If you want to understand the economy, study the Depression.

Ben Bernanke

It’s true that the Federal Reserve faces a lot of political pressure and is unpopular in many circles.
BEN BERNANKE

Circles Political Pressure
Nobody really understands gold prices and I don’t pretend to understand them either.
BEN BERNANKE

Gold Gold Price
A collapse in U.S. stock prices certainly would cause a lot of white knuckles on Wall Street. But what effect would it have on the broader U.S. economy? If Wall Street crashes, does Main Street follow? Not necessarily.
BEN BERNANKE

Country Stock Street Wall White
The sources of deflation are not a mystery. Deflation is in almost all cases a side effect of a collapse of aggregate demand.. a drop in spending so severe that producers must cut prices on an ongoing basis in order to find buyers.
BEN BERNANKE

Cutting Ongoing Order
I served seven years as the chair of the Princeton economics department where I had responsibility for major policy decisions, such as whether to serve bagels or doughnuts at the department coffee hour.
BEN BERNANKE

Coffee Responsibility Years
Over the years, the U.S. economy has shown a remarkable ability to absorb shocks of all kinds, to recover, and to continue to grow.
BEN BERNANKE

Kind Success Years
If your uniform isn’t dirty, you haven’t been in the game.
BEN BERNANKE

Dirty Game Graduation
Importantly, in the 1930s, in the Great Depression, the Federal Reserve, despite its mandate, was quite passive and, as a result, financial crisis became very severe, lasted essentially from 1929 to 1933.
BEN BERNANKE

Depression Financial Great Result
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
Monetary policy cannot do much about long-run growth, all we can try to do is to try to smooth out periods where the economy is depressed because of lack of demand
BEN BERNANKE

Growth Long Running
I generally leave the details of fiscal programs to the Administration and Congress. That’s really their area of authority and responsibility, and I don’t think it’s appropriate for me to second guess.
BEN BERNANKE

Details Responsibility Thinking
Developments in financial markets can have broad economic effects felt by many outside the markets.
BEN BERNANKE

Development Economic Financial
The GSEs are adequately capitalized. They are in no danger of failing.
BEN BERNANKE

Capitalized Danger Failing
I assure this committee that, if I am confirmed, I will be strictly independent of all political influences… essential to that institution’s ability to function effectively and achieve its mandated objectives.
BEN BERNANKE

Essentials Independent Political
One might as well try to perform brain surgery with a sledgehammer.
BEN BERNANKE

Brain might Trying
The best approach here, if at all possible, is to use supervisory and regulatory methods to restrain undue risk-taking and to make sure the system is resilient in case an asset-price bubble bursts in the future.
BEN BERNANKE

Investing Risk Use

If you want to understand geology, study earthquakes. If you want to understand the economy, study the Depression.

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If you want to understand geology, study earthquakes. If you want to understand the economy, study the Depression.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

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