Ben Bernanke Quotes

It takes about two and a half percent growth just to keep unemployment stable.
BEN BERNANKE

Growth Two Unemployment
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
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
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
I’d throw dollars out of helicopters if I had to, to stimulate the economy.
BEN BERNANKE

Dollars Economy Helicopters
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
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
Among the largest banks, the capital ratios remain good and I don’t expect any serious problems . . . . among the large, internationally active banks that make up a very substantial part of our banking system.
BEN BERNANKE

Banking Ratio Serious
The Federal Reserve will not monetize the debt.
BEN BERNANKE

Debt Federal Reserve Reserves
A gold standard doesn’t imply stability in the prices of the goods and services that people buy every day, it implies a stability in the price of gold itself.
BEN BERNANKE

Gold People Standard
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
Achieving price stability is not only important in itself, it is also central to attaining the Federal Reserve’s other mandate objectives of maximum sustainable employment and moderate long-term interest rates.
BEN BERNANKE

Employment Important Long
The risk exists that, with aggregate demand exhibiting considerable momentum, output could overshoot its sustainable path, leading ultimately in the absence of countervailing monetary policy action to further upward pressure on inflation.
BEN BERNANKE

Demand Path Risk
With respect to their safety, derivatives, for the most part, are traded among very sophisticated financial institutions and individuals who have considerable incentive to understand them and to use them properly.
BEN BERNANKE

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

Brain might Trying
We’ve never had a decline in house prices on a nationwide basis. So, what I think what is more likely is that house prices will slow, maybe stabilize, might slow consumption spending a bit. I don’t think it’s going to drive the economy too far from its full employment path, though.
BEN BERNANKE

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

Currency Significant Way
If Wall Street crashes, does Main Street follow? Not necessarily.
BEN BERNANKE

Crash Doe Wall
In fact, the world needs more nerds.
BEN BERNANKE

Needs Nerd World
Although low inflation is generally good, inflation that is too low can pose risks to the economy – especially when the economy is struggling.
BEN BERNANKE

Economy Risk Struggle
The benefit of appointing a hawkish central banker is the increased inflation-fighting credibility that such an appointment brings.
BEN BERNANKE

Bankers Benefit Fighting
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
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

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