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Senator And Member Of Senate Banking Committee Jeff Merkley Joins Opposition Against Ben Shalom Bernanke
MERKLEY STATEMENT ON NOMINATION OF BEN BERNANKE
WASHINGTON, DC – Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley, a member of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Development, issued the following statement on his intention to vote against Ben Bernanke’s nomination to a second term as Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System:
“Tomorrow, I will vote against confirming Ben Bernanke as Chairman of the Federal Reserve. The reason, in short, is that as Chairman, Dr. Bernanke failed to recognize or remedy the factors that paved the road to this dark and difficult recession. Following our economic collapse, it is also apparent that he has not changed his overall approach to prioritizing Wall Street over American families.
“My decision is based on my fundamental belief that our economy cannot recover if we do not put Main Street first.
“Our nation is just beginning to emerge from the greatest financial crisis since the Great Depression, and there is no guarantee we will continue on the road to recovery over the long or short terms. Unemployment remains far too high, credit is unavailable to too many businesses, and families are plagued by falling home prices and high foreclosure rates. Even as we move forward with our efforts to get our economy back on track, it is critical we carefully examine what led us to this point.
“For too many years, federal regulators turned a blind eye to signs of an impending financial crisis. Tricks and traps proliferated in the credit card and consumer lending industries. Predatory mortgage loans exploded, fueling an unsustainable housing bubble. Regulators lifted rules requiring banks to keep adequate capital, and a laissez-faire approach to securitization, derivatives, and proprietary trading encouraged excessive risk-taking on Wall Street. As a member of the Board of Governors, Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, and then ultimately as Chairman of the Board of Governors, Dr. Bernanke supported each of these decisions, failing to take the necessary precautionary steps that could have averted or mitigated financial collapse.
“These failures are very relevant to the future. We need economic leaders who understand that the ultimate goal of economic policies and the key to meaningful economic recovery should be financially successful families, not oversized Wall Street profits.
“Indeed, it should be recognized that although Wall Street prospered in the short-term from reduced leverage requirements, securitization of faulty mortgages, and the explosion of derivatives, Americans did not. The expansion that occurred from 2002 to 2007 became the first economic expansion in which working families were worse off at the end than at the beginning. This is not a path that we can afford to travel again.”
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Either confirmation is already baked in and select Senators are given a free pass for political expediency, or there is legitimate dissention. My guess is confirmation is a done deal. How can you turn down the Person of the Year? That's mean.
a done deal
absolutely - good observation
it's called left cover (pls excuse the HuffPo link)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/11/03/jeff-merkley-gordon-smith_n_140...
I think you are right. It is a done deal.
They (the powers that be + MSM) have successfully reshaped the public debate from a real discussion about the mistakes that were made and how to remedy them to "we now are in recovery and it is taking hold - inflation is contained." Just look at the Bloomberg headlines.
It does not matter how loudly we protest in our corner of the world because we are a very vocal but decided minority. The great masses only want to hear the good news and will accept any spin put on it and will go to great lengths to believe a lie.
After all, confidence is 90% of the battle and "they" want everyone to be confident so they will spend, buy and take risk.
My guess is they can actually "will(power) a recovery" if they can convince enough people with manipulated statistics and numbers. This is the "new normal" and trillion dollar deficits do NOT matter.
Clearly the better approach was to go through and not around - at least for the long term health of the economy, but Bernanke, et al convinced most people (who matter) that the great lesson of the depression of the 1930s was to spend, pretend and extend and that Hoover almost brought down the US. Only Roosevelt's willingness to deficit spend kept us from going over the edge and Bernanke's willingness to monetize (plus Congress' deficit spending this time) kept us from going over the edge in 2008.
They might be right - though I would debate with anyone whether Hoover's instincts were correct and Roosevelt actually extended GD I by his policies.
The point is a contraction was warranted for the long term health of the US economy. Avoiding the contraction and "re-inflation" is only good for the short term. That means we will face another crisis sooner rather than later.
In the fall of 2008 I believed that the Federal Government should keep its powder dry and NOT spend 700 B on TARP. My thought then (and it still is today) was that money would be better spent to rebuild after the sham economy we had built with over-speculation had collapsed than to save the risk takers who created the collapse.
Yes, Bernanke will be re-confirmed, Geithner will survive, GS will continue to flourish and pay huge bonuses, BOA, JPM, C and the other TBTF will continue to be TBTF. We are back to, or approaching, the status quo and it could well last several years. Eventually we will face another crisis but there will be no contraction back to a sustainable level (e.g., home prices 3 x median income) because there is not now, nor has there ever been, the political will to manage the US through such a time.
The Bush tax cuts will be whittled back. The unified tax credit will settle in around $1 mm, the top tax rate will go back to 39.5%, L.T. Capital gains will be taxed at 20% with a 2 year holding period and dividend income will be taxed at 20% or higher. Those things are a given.
What will follow in 2011 & 2012 is anyone's guess, but state and local taxes will go up but the argument will be shaped so that no one will complain because, after all, we escaped the abyss.
It is all business as usual folks ... nothing to see here.
Bwahahaha! Past point of no return. Cannot reflate sufficiently without same meltdown outcome. Debt cannot be serviced, snowballing entitlements cannot be funded, all debt is slowly massing to the short end.
Once the very short-dated debt is all "real" investors will hold, it isn't long until they are snuffed by zero or negative real returns as the monetization beast devours all issue. Then the currency dump. Then the exchange and market lockups again.
Unavoidable, Ben Shalom just bought enough of an hiatus to enrich the "special princes" of the inner cabal, but outcome remains the same.
They have inflated every bubble, and each has crashed. Confidence has been so abused there can be no further bubble. When currency losses outstrip any potential gains there can be no real debt auctions, just money printing and pretend auctions.
We may already be there. Is shalom both a greeting and farewell word in Hebrew?
If so Shalom, Bernanke, our last mazeltov will be seeing you exit the burning house you left us with. Go with God.
You have left us with Golem not Salem.
Intrade is giving it a 94% chance that he is confirmed.
Put Bernanke into the search
http://www.intrade.com/jsp/intrade/contractSearch/
P.S. Is it impolite to mention Bernanke is the handpicked waterboy for the wealthy elite---and the wealthy elite get what they pay for?
The man of the year award could just as well have been given as a pre-emptive consolidation prize and thank you for taking the flak farewell, before his replacement is known.
You forget the Hitler was also a man of the year!
Yoo hoo! Senator Merkley? Maybe you didn't hear the news. Wake up sleepy-head. You happen to be talking about Time's "Man of the Year".
...re "Man of the Year," so were Hitler, Stalin, Khrushchev, and other tumors on humanity. The Time award goes to those whom they believe have had the GREATEST IMPACT--GOOD or BAD--on the world in the past year.
I'd put Ben in the latter category.
No Ben, no cap&trade no health care. YES WE (the people) CAN
something like 75% of Americans favor SIGNIFICANT MEANINGFUL health care reform. Its only President Lieberman and the Party of NO! who don't.
What does this comment on health care have to do with the confirmation of Bernanke? You are preaching in the wrong forum bud.
Why don't you try learning reading comprehension yourself Ace? The person I was responding to referenced and lumped together health care and "cap and trade" like they were swear words in purely a political reference, and by so doing there was a clear inference that the defeat of Bernanke, health care and "cap and trade" were not supported by the majority of Americans. That made his comments fair game.
If you mean Obamacare vs. actual reform - Try 32% & please note the source.
http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2009/12/16/2153563.aspx
From NBC's Mark Murray
As the Senate sprints to pass a health-care bill by Christmas, the latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll finds that those believing President Obama's health-reform plan is a good idea has sunk to its lowest level.
Just 32 percent say it's a good idea, versus 47 percent who say it's a bad idea.
In addition, for the first time in the survey, a plurality prefers the status quo to reform. By a 44-41 percent margin, respondents say it would be better to keep the current system than to pass Obama's health plan.
Try learning reading comprehension also. I said that the majority (about 75%) of Americans favor SIGNIFICANT MEANINGFUL health care reform. I even capitalized all the letters so the reading - challenged could understand that. Of course that pathetic cop out of a bill isn't SIGNIFICANT or MEANINGFUL health care reform. Its a travesty, an embarrassment for Senate page Obama and a victory for President Lieberman. Its a disgrace and a perfect example of moral and political cowardice, a cowardice that I believe infects BOTH parties equally.
MSNBC? Puhlese. That's up there with CNBC or NBC or GE or the WSJ or any of the other conflicted propaganda sources.
This is still about Bernanke's confirmation, not about health care. No one cares about your views on that topic. Please take them elsewhere - Ace.
You've got a lot of balls sniping at people while you're ANONYMOUS - ESAD.
Polls are changing fast, bucko. Now, switch to decaf and do something productive instead of debating on the Internet. Ain't it Finals week or something?
http://pajamasmedia.com/instapundit/90149/
"In addition, for the first time in the survey, a plurality prefers the status quo to reform.”
Go hide under your mommy's skirt ANONYMOUS.
This Gddmn site is better than Blu-Ray.
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2009/12/16/2009-12-16_just_plan...
Babel Fish translation - "oops, I've been reading my constituents' emails for the first time in 6 months - they're fucking pissed!"
Duh.
Why you don't like Ben? It could be worst if not him..
It could be worst
-----------
it is worsE
I wonder how this guy voted when the Glass-Steagle Bill was repealed? Perhaps enough blame to cover Congress, the Administration and all Americans who are too busy watching American Idol and TV sports, playing golf, and in general way too uninvolved with their government.
Jeff Merkeley was just elected in 2008 here in Oregon.
I received the following response from his office in regard to a Fed Audit:
"The Federal Reserve has taken extraordinary actions to stabilize our financial system. In doing so, it has departed significantly from its traditional relationship with markets and has taken on unprecedented new risks. Because of these recent Fed activities, I recently introduced the Federal Reserve Accountability Act (S. 1803) with Senator Bob Corker (R-TN). This legislation would subject the Federal Reserve's new emergency lending activities to a robust financial audit by the Government Accountability Office (GAO). As you may know, the GAO already has audit authority to investigate all aspects of the Federal Reserve's operations, with the exception of monetary policy. However, my legislation makes clear that bailout programs are not monetary policy and should not be shielded from GAO oversight.
Transparency and accountability are fundamental principles of representative government, and my legislation would strike the right balance in maintaining oversight of Federal Reserve activities without disturbing its traditional independence over monetary policy. I look forward to working with my colleagues on the Senate Banking Committee to address this issue and other needed reforms to our financial industry. Thank you, again, for sharing your thoughts with me. I hope you will continue to keep me informed about the issues that matter most to you."
So what we are up to 3 Senators who are re-thinking the rape and pillage of America by Benny and friends? I feel so much better now.
Merkley is smart.
This confirmation vote is going to be recorded and referred back when TSHTF. A few other Senators who are facing 2010 re-election prospects should be hedging their bets right now-- whether they are voting in the Banking Committee or not.
There will be more than 3 votes against re-confirmation. But it will still be in the solid minority.
Maybe ya'll should be careful what you wish for...
Who would be next Lady 'Debasement is my favorite lubrication' Yellen?
Or perhaps
Larry 'I am so smart I ripped Harvard's face off' Summers?
Ben was a good bowler, and a good man. He was one of us. He was a man who loved the outdoors... and bowling, and as a reserve chairman he explored the avenues of Fifth, from 85 Broad to Park and... up to... Wall Street. He died, like so many young men of his generation, he died before his time. In your wisdom, Lord, you took him, as you took so many bright flowering young men at Khe Sanh, at Langdok, at Hill 364. These young men gave their lives. And so would Ben. Ben, who loved bowling. And so, Ben Shalom Bernanke, in accordance with what we think your dying wishes might well have been, we commit your final mortal remains to the bosom of the Pacific Ocean, which you loved so well. Good night, sweet prince.
As an Oregonian, I am proud of Jeff Merkeley. I also just wrote him about auditing the Fed and got a nice response.
What was his response? I voted for Merkley and am sure glad to see this news.
-Nevermind, I see the response above....
As another Oregonian and also as one that has been writing Senator Merkley, today I also wrote him to thank him for this wise decision in regard to BB.
I have been attempting to get him to retract his bill S.1803 on auditing the Fed and instead to support S.604. Thus far, no success. A weak audit, as his legislation would allow, is not superior to S.604.
It is possible another Bankster-supporter could be named in lieu of BB. But that becomes a fight in the future, for the future...
Gotta love those pesky new senators and their homespun idealism. The fed support Main Street? hahaha
Miles! I love it!
Let me try: A thong support diarrhea?
So much for the holds placed. More theater, I guess.
Good on him for standing up and being a voice for the people for a change.
But I would have hoped he had realised this isn't quite right...
"The expansion that occurred from 2002 to 2007 became the first economic expansion in which working families were worse off at the end than at the beginning. This is not a path that we can afford to travel again.”
He is missing this year... it isn't a path cannot afford to travel again.. it has already happened .... again.
Fat cat banksters reap huge bonuses, whilst ordinary workers are thankful they still have a job let alone a xmas party!
As for the rest of the unemployed, real people know what it is like and fudging figures doesn't mask the true pain in society. Those that have lost their jobs and their homes think it has already happened again and the fat cats have sold into this rally in droves thanks to Heli Ben and his never ending supply of backstopping for the banksters that are the true villains
Is there some sort of curse (hopefully) associated with TIMES 'Person of the Year' selection like there is for SI's cover selection of a national championship team or Heisman contender?
Time magazine just showed it is a puppet of the Fed/Wall Street/Obama Admin... what timing.
I get so sick of these fucks thinking the average Joe is a stupid smuck only looking for a cheap mortgage or a high limit credit card.
I think folks still don't understand we are a Fed run country and the folks in DC are merely employees of the Fed.
Ok really tho, when there is a bringer of economic doom who is of the christian persuasion and has a middle name like "Chris" or "Matthew" or "Paul" is ZH going to spell out their full name every time too? Or is it just that Shalom is too much fun to not say over and over again? I mean shoot, even the Hussein thing got old after a while.
i thought it was the fact that that name translates, (variously and among other things) to "son of peace" and "son of goodbye"
thanks for the laugh. i love it when someone objects - in a blatently bigoted fashion - that others aren't being sensitive enough.
(i'm way over shalom too and i never thought hussein was funny so i'm not objecting to your objection, per se.)
There just happens to be a lot of shaloms among record bonus recipients on Wall St. I am sure it's pure coincidence and simply outcome of meritocracy.
The Gulf States have cast their vote: they are leaving the Ben Bernanke Dollar.
Foreigner rejection of our currency exports shows up as hyperinflation.
Funny how his lack of support for helicopter Ben is correct but all of reasons are wrong. I look forward to when Merkley is Chairman of the Fed so I can start using my silver eagles to buy groceries and my federal reserve notes as wallpaper.
Senator Merkley is a democrat - we need more dissension.
Free nobel prize with every conformation...limited time only...and if you buy now we will throw in this armored limo and ak-47! For only three payments of 6,000,000,000,000,000,000!
Free nobel prize with every nomination...limited time only...and if you buy now we will throw in this armored limo and ak-47! For only three payments of 6,000,000,000,000,000,000!
please write to your Senators this evening.
thank you.
DH, maybe this is the only thing I don't support, concerning your posts, but maybe that's because we diverge on the faith-in-representation bit. I mean calling, writing, signs-with-crayons, billboards, et al seem to be useless at this point - to me the 14th district in Texas is the only place we have a 'guarantee' somebody is listening.
Maybe I'm wrong. Your posts indicate that you have at least 20 years on me - and 28 in heavily following politics. Your regular postings here also further my hypothesis that you are quite aware of the 'bull****' we face. So, if I may timidly ask, why do you support Congress in it's current form?
Either way I support your faith in the American way - at the very least in the activism.
Thank you.
Ron Paul: “Ben Bernanke is the most powerful man in the world because he controls the supply of money, which is the dollar, which is the reserve currency of the world. He can create a trillion dollar in secret without any monitoring by the Congress. So there’s no transparency and I think he is more powerful than the President.
The big question is, has he used that power for good, or for evil? And of course, my side of the argument is, the system is evil, and the chairman, whether it’s Greenspan or Bernanke, they can do no good. They cause our troubles, they cause the inflation, they cause the bubbles. And therefore the bust, the correction, is always their fault.”
Ron Paul calls Ben "the greatest counterfeiter in history":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRZ-B14PEsc
For kicks, play TV anchor in your town, with a fake cameraperson and ask this question:
"What is the Federal Reserve"?
If more then 10% of the repondees give you the right answer or anywhere even close, I'll buy you a Ferrari.
Only the tiniest fraction even know wh Bernanke is.
In their ignorance, the people's willful disdain of even rudimentary financial savvy, the banksster wins. I believe if I had the opportunity to be at the top of the pyramid, I too would have to give in to the temptation and grab all that I could for myself.
All that remains is for the clued in to know how to play it out, where to grab a chunk as it moves by them.
Voting against Bernhake? Better increase your security team. They will hunt you down. No way Berhake goes away. No way. He is part of the team. Not a chance in Hell McCain does anything meaningful to rid the nation of Berhake.
Hussein is different. As there are no other muslims in the administration, it makes obama unique. There are plenty of shaloms in the administration. Therefore part of the team.
I looked thru the obama administration. Not one muslim or christian.
There was a Glenn Beck graph showing all the connectins between the WH and the IBs, about 75% of people on that were shaloms.
AS much as I dislike the fact that the FED is an authority that answers to no one and is the only "legal" corporation in the world that is not audited, I do believe that the reason why they will vote to reconfirm Dr "Helipad is ready" Ben "Print it into oblivion" Bernanke is because the yes voters are "in" on the grandeur of the Ponzi scheme that is the Federal Reserve Monetary system and how it has enriched the United States for so long at the expense of impending total economic collapse and literal 3rd world infrastructure based destruction.
If the FED is audited and the world discovers the moral hazard that it is and the fact that it is running a peter to paul ponzi scheme, the Fed monetary unit known as the US Dollar will become worthless virtually overnight.
That is the hold you hostage fear that is being fed to the ruling political party by the FED.
The republicans, under whom so much of this mess sprouted, are(just like their partners in crime the democrats) completely morally and intellectually bankrupt and are out of ideas other than to hasten the collapse so they can return to power under the "it's the economy stupid" motif.
The Republistocrats and the Dumbistocrats are in a race to the bottom as a synopsis of an overfed and under motivated nation busy running over itself in the race to buy the latest gadget at Walmart.
In 12th century Turkey, Kabobs were invented in order to eat something delicious very fast and with little cost.
In the USA and Western World, Turkeys are cooked for the longest time at the highest energy cost per food unit.
Blessings are not only expected but ordered from overworked higher powers.
Reaping what someone else sows has become de rigueur
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