black
grey
blue
red
brown
white

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

It’s the price of success: people start to think you’re omnipotent.
BEN BERNANKE

People Price Success Thinking
If you are not happy with yourself, even the loftiest achievements won’t bring you much satisfaction.
BEN BERNANKE

Achievement Not Happy Satisfaction
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.
BEN BERNANKE

Casual Financial Problem Relationship
The GSEs are adequately capitalized. They are in no danger of failing.
BEN BERNANKE

Capitalized Danger Failing
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
Both humanity’s capacity to innovate and the incentives to innovate are greater today than at any other time in history.
BEN BERNANKE

Humanity Incentives Today
One might as well try to perform brain surgery with a sledgehammer.
BEN BERNANKE

Brain might Trying
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 am confident that we will meet whatever challenges the future may bring.
BEN BERNANKE

Challenges Confident May Meet
The basic prescription for preventing deflation is therefore straightforward, at least in principle: Use monetary and fiscal policy as needed to support aggregate spending.
BEN BERNANKE

Business Principle Support
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
Economics is a very difficult subject. I’ve compared it to trying to learn how to repair a car when the engine is running.
BEN BERNANKE

Car Running Trying
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

Decision Economics Responsibility
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.
BEN BERNANKE

Best Economic Inflation Resources Way
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
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.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

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.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

More Ben Bernanke Quotes