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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2010
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5

Bernanke on Offense Ahead of Confirmation Battle

Fed chair makes his case ahead of Senate hearing; Sanders will vote no

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(Newser) – Ben Bernanke's reappointment to a second 4-year term is virtually certain, but the path appears likely to be a somewhat rocky one. The Fed chairman's confirmation will be the subject of a Senate Banking Committee hearing Thursday, and one senator has already said he'll vote no when the matter comes up for a full vote, Reuters reports. Bernanke aggressively defended himself and his institution in an op-ed that appeared in today's Washington Post.

He acknowledged the Fed "like other regulators around the world, did not do all that it could have to constrain excessive risk-taking in the financial sector in the period leading up to the crisis." But pending bills intended to rein in the Fed "are very much out of step with the global consensus on the appropriate role of central banks, and they would seriously impair the prospects for economic and financial stability in the United States," he writes. Meanwhile, Vermont independent Bernie Sanders said on This Week that he "absolutely will not" support Bernanke's reconfirmation.

Federal Reserve chair Ben Bernanke, right, during a break at the G20 Finance Ministers meeting in St. Andrews, Scotland Nov. 7, 2009. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is at left.
Federal Reserve chair Ben Bernanke, right, during a break at the G20 Finance Ministers meeting in St. Andrews, Scotland Nov. 7, 2009. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is at left.   (AP Photo/Andrew Winning, Pool)
Federal chairman Ben S. Bernanke during an address in Chatham, Mass., Oct. 23, 2009. Up for confirmation to a second 4-year term, Bernanke appears before the Senate Banking Committee Thursday.
Federal chairman Ben S. Bernanke during an address in Chatham, Mass., Oct. 23, 2009. Up for confirmation to a second 4-year term, Bernanke appears before the Senate Banking Committee Thursday.   (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
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Cat-Lover
Nov 29, 09 4:22 PM CST
John Kenneth Galbraith said it best, "The only function of economic forecasting is to is to make astrology look respectable." Not one economist can tell what's going to happen -- especially based on what's happened (were we able to recognize all causes). Reply
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deebles
Nov 29, 09 9:55 PM CST
You can never go wrong quoting Galbraith. I like his son, too. This is the same problem that we've had since Hamilton and Jefferson. Hamilton wanted a central bank and debt so bad that he could taste it--until Burr killed him over that married chick--but Jefferson, so against debt, just ignored the Constitution and everything he believed to make the Louisianna Purchase. Cause it was smart. To go against your ideals for the future good is what the Reserve has always been about. Lumberjacks wore t-shirts in the sixties that read--Save the Stockbrokers- when Greenspan showed up. They got it.
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bewilderbeast
Nov 30, 09 8:09 AM CST
Isn't it astounding that human greed is SO STRONG it can support a whole phalanx of people talking shit and being proven wrong time and again. It forgives their mistakes and overpays their (chance) correct predictions to a disgraceful extent. And the simple reason: When you're selling gambling you need to pay liars well to TALK and TALK. Doesn't matter what they say, they must just TALK. They're the barkers of medieval fairs.
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Cat-Lover
Nov 29, 09 4:42 PM CST
scratch one "...is to..." Thanks Reply
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Fnordesque
Nov 29, 09 9:10 PM CST
Good for Bernie Sanders Reply
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