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 BERNANKEThe basic prescription for preventing deflation is therefore straightforward, at least in principle: Use monetary and fiscal policy as needed to support aggregate spending.
More Ben Bernanke Quotes
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Under current law, on January 1, 2013, there’s going to be a massive fiscal cliff of large spending cuts and tax increases.
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In a manner as nearly consistent as possible with full utilization of economic resources and low and stable inflation. In other words, the best way to get out of trouble is not to get into it in the first place.
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Although low inflation is generally good, inflation that is too low can pose risks to the economy – especially when the economy is struggling.
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It’s true that the Federal Reserve faces a lot of political pressure and is unpopular in many circles.
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If you are not happy with yourself, even the loftiest achievements won’t bring you much satisfaction.
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The crisis in Europe has affected the US economy by acting as a drag on our exports, weighing on business and consumer confidence and pressuring US financial markets and institutions.
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I and others were mistaken early on in saying that the subprime crisis would be contained. The causal relationship between the housing problem and the broad financial system was very complex and difficult to predict.
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A money-financed tax cut is essentially equivalent to Milton Friedman’s famous ‘helicopter drop’ of money.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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While rising delinquencies and foreclosures will continue to weigh heavily on the housing market this year, it will not cripple the U.S.
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…the Federal Reserve has the capacity to operate in domestic money markets to maintain interest rates at a level consistent with our economic goals
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The risk that the economy has entered a substantial downturn appears to have diminished over the past month or so.
BEN BERNANKE