BEN BERNANKE MUDDLE

I just finished the strangest book I have ever read cover to cover. It was titled, The Courage to Act: A memoir of a Crisis and its Aftermath by Ben Bernanke. 2015. The author was the head of the Federal Reserve System following Allan Greenspan, which led up to and followed the greatest economic crisis the world has ever experienced. The reason it was such a strange book is that sentence after sentence said exactly the opposite of what author’s message was. Bernanke claimed to have had the courage to act however that is what he did not do. Bernanke carefully explained he is an was raised as Ashkenazi Jew and is a devote Republican dedicated to being fiscally responsible. Seldom do we read books where the author dedicates so much space to documenting his religious heritage. He is obviously proud of the fact that Ashkenazi Jews are known to have IQ’s an average 12 points above the rest of us. In addition, he went to some of the best schools in the nation and studied economics. It was a little surprising he did not make more of his affiliation with the Republican Party and philosophical affiliation with that party’s platform of being fiscally responsible. However, this aspect was understandable because of his having been appointed by a Republican president and the need in the foreseeable future to be re-appointed by a Democratic President and confirmed by a Partisan congress. This deniable political affiliation while at the same time embracing it, is in keeping with the tenor of rest of the book. The doctrine of the Republican party, stated in as many ways as one can imagine, is less government, small government, no government, government is the problems, etc. As Bernanke carefully explains, he did a great job as a Republican heading a government agency dedicated to controlling the economy; an agency that he as an economist believes should not exist in a capitalist system. In addition, clearly the agency did a great job under Greenspan because it failed to provide the oversight needed, which resulted in the crisis. He repeatedly said in the books that the economic crisis came about because of the lack of supervision of banks and lending institutions, which makes my point; he is trying to take credit for correcting the great wrong that resulted from the Republican philosophy that created the economic crisis. Do you ever wonder why people are confused by what happens in Washington? URL: firetreepub.blogspot.com Comments Invited and not moderated