Bernanke Vs. The Free Market

Posted April 5th, 2008 by FakeBen

This is a transcript from yesterday's Congressional testimony. Note that Bernanke admits that if the Fed puts the interest rate at the "wrong place" then "that would have negative impacts."

Ron Paul: Does the Federal Reserve contribute to the business cycle?

Bernanke: It has. It has at times ....

Ron Paul: Does excessive credit and artificially low interest rates cause malinvestment?

Bernanke: The question is, [what] is the judgment as to where interest rates ought to be? Of course we have a mandate for maximum employment and price stability and we try and balance those obligations. So we could make mistakes and put the interest rate at the wrong place and that would have negative impacts, I agree. So we are doing the best we can to find the right place to put the interest rate, the one that's consistent with the neutral rate, the rate that establishes a full employment economy.

Ron Paul: And some day we may try the market to determine the interest rates. Thank You.

Elliot Spitzer

On April 6th, 2008 nancykim7 says:

Hi, what's your take on this Eliot Spitzer controversy and its relation to the Big Banks/Government?
http://www.gregpalast.com/elliot-spitzer-gets-nailed/

Spitzer

On April 6th, 2008 FakeBen says:

Lots of people think that Spitzer was "taken down" because of his standing up to Wall Street. So far, I have seen no evidence of this. It seems as if Spitzer did some really bad stuff on his own.

Obviously, if there is legitimate evidence that he was "taken down," then I would change my opinion. But I've never been a believer in conspiracies without evidence. I'm a believer in "innocent until proven guilty," even for the worst among us.

From my point of view, when it comes to our current Fed, it doesn't matter really if it is fraud, ignorance, or incompetence. Whatever the case, the current system does not work. We don't need to prove fraud to prove that it needs to be changed. It needs to be changed. Period.

On the other hand,

On April 6th, 2008 cRavias says:

On the other hand, if you must know what higher ups are up to,
the long tried and true rule says: hear out the worst rumors, and then take them ten folds.

It has been noticed that whatever the rumors are saying about the ruling gang, the truth is always much worse.