This page has been archived and commenting is disabled.

Bernanke Finally Reveals, In One Word, Why The Financial System Crashed

Tyler Durden's picture




 

Now that Ben Bernanke is no longer the head of the Fed, he can finally tell the truth about what caused the financial crash. At least that's what a packed auditorium of over 1000 people as part of the financial conference staged by National Bank of Abu Dhabi, the UAE's largest bank, was hoping for earlier today when they paid an exorbitant amount of money to hear the former chairman talk.

Bernanke confirmed as much when he said he could now speak more freely about the crisis than he could while at the Fed - "I can say whatever I want."

So what was the reason, according to the man who was easily the most powerful person in the world for nearly a decade?

Ready?

"Overconfidence." (no, not "weather")


Yup. That's it.

The United States became "overconfident", he said of the period before the September 2008 collapse of U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers. That triggered a crash from which parts of the world, including the U.S. economy, have not fully recovered.

 

"This is going to sound very obvious but the first thing we learned is that the U.S. is not invulnerable to financial crises," Bernanke said.

Actually what is going to sound even more obvious, is that subprime was not contained.

But going back to Bernanke's explanation, brought to us by Reuters, we wonder: did he perhaps get into the reason for the overconfidence? Maybe such as the Fed's endless hubris in believing it knew what it was doing, when time after time and especially over the past 30 years, the US central bank has shown that all it now does is lead the nation from bubble to bubble, from crisis to crisis, and replaces one asset bubble, first the dot com, then the housing, with another, even bigger one, until we get to the biggest bubble of all time - the stock market as you see it currently, where the S&P 500 soars to all time highs and when news of an ICBM launch can barely cause a dent in a ridiculous upward ramp driven by, you guessed it, overconfidence.

Only this time it's different, because the Fed really know what it is doing. Or maybe this time is no different than any other market mania unwinding before our eyes, with the careful nurturing of the the Fed and its chairmanwoman, be it Greenspan, Bernanke or Yellen.

But has Bernanke at least learned something? After all he is supposedly a very smart man from Princeton? Why yes:

He also said he found it hard to find the right way to communicate with investors when every word was closely scrutinised. "That was actually very hard for me to get adjusted to that situation where your words have such effect. I came from the academic background and I was used to making hypothetical examples and ... I learned I can't do that because the markets do not understand hypotheticals."

 

He concluded that he should "try to simplify the message, but not simplify too much".

Oh you mean something like this, uttered literally moments ago:

  • LACKER SAYS UNEMPLOYMENT THRESHOLD CLOSE TO OBSOLETE

Thank you Fed for admitting the whole premise behind the injection of over $1 trillion in the capital markets, the Fed's "target" of 6.5% unemployment, was really a bizarro bullshit joke perpetrated on the common man, when in reality the threshold was 1900 on the S&P. Or 2000. Or 3000. Or pick some arbitrary nominal number, where people confuse paper assets inflation with real wealth.

But don't worry, it's the "overconfidence" that did us in...

And then, on to regrets - because Bernanke has a few:

"We could have done some things on the margin to mitigate somewhat the crisis."

 

"Although we have been very aggressive, I think on the monetary policy front we could have been even more aggressive."

You heard that, the $4.1 trillion balance sheet is nowhere near enough. The Fed could have blown up the final bubble even more! Because that's what you are taught on Clown Keynesian school.

But wait, because the punchline beckons:

My natural inclinations, even if it weren’t for the legal mandate, would be to try to help the average person,” Bernanke said today in his first public remarks since leaving the Fed in January, referring to the central bank’s mandate from Congress to ensure full employment and stable prices. “The complexity though arises because in order to help the average person, you have to do things -- very distasteful things -- like try to prevent some large financial companies from collapsing.”

 

“The result was there are still many people after the crisis who still feel that it was unfair that some companies got helped and small banks and small business and average families didn’t get direct help,” Bernanke said. “It’s a hard perception to break.”

So there it is: the system crashed because we were "overconfident" - nothing to do with system merely having gorged on the reactionary excess to the popping of the dot com bubble - but Bernanke is 100% certain he could have done more to help the average person, because the Fed's balance sheet trickle down eventually works. And let's not forget the "overconfidence" about containing inflation in 15 minutes or less. That one will be hilarious to watch unwind.

* * *

So how much does such profound brilliance cost?

Bernanke received at least $250,000 for his appearance.

Or, in other words, more than he was paid for one full year as Fed chairman.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is a wrap.

 

- advertisements -

Comment viewing options

Select your preferred way to display the comments and click "Save settings" to activate your changes.
Tue, 03/04/2014 - 19:40 | 4509626 BlackChicken
BlackChicken's picture

Satan

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 20:03 | 4509738 Taint Boil
Taint Boil's picture

 

 

The most “powerful person in the world” for nearly a decade??? Proof positive that he was nothing more than a puppet working for our Masters. 

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 19:37 | 4509609 zionhead101
zionhead101's picture

 Bernanke is out, its YELLEN now and soon to be HILLARY Clinton 2016,

 

Will somebody please tell the ZH auto-comment bot to update the software to post 2014.

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 19:40 | 4509625 VegasBob
VegasBob's picture

If there is a God, please save us from Hitlery!

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 19:53 | 4509689 Supernova Born
Supernova Born's picture

God helps those who help themselves to others' stuff.

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 19:57 | 4509715 kchrisc
kchrisc's picture

While I appreciate your comment and sentiment, I do not believe that whatever puppet the elites stick in the WH will do anything less than what they are told to. I believe Obama and Bush Jr. are testaments to that.

 

"Best place for setting up a guillotine?! A golf course."

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 20:17 | 4509805 logicalman
logicalman's picture

Blood is a great fertilizer - especially for grass.

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 20:16 | 4509799 walküre
walküre's picture

Affirmative Action is in full swing. Learn how to work with it. Paint yourself black and stuff your shirt. That job is as good as yours.

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 19:37 | 4509610 VegasBob
VegasBob's picture

What a crock of horseshit!  Bernanke wouldn't know reality if it bit his ass.

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 19:37 | 4509613 jubber
jubber's picture

one word PONZI

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 19:38 | 4509616 Charles Nelson ...
Charles Nelson Reilly's picture

Phew.... At least this go around the likes of Dimon, Blankfein & Krugman are much more humble then they were in 08'.

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 19:38 | 4509618 TeamDepends
TeamDepends's picture

Fiat

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 19:39 | 4509620 sosoome
sosoome's picture

Overconfidence translated from fedspeak to english= greed

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 19:39 | 4509621 Conax
Conax's picture

Shalom, Ben.

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 19:43 | 4509629 Meat Hammer
Meat Hammer's picture

Hubris, plain and simple.  These people live in a fake world of buying each other's books and slapping each other's backs. When they fuck up the real world, it's all our stupid fault because we're forced to live in a reality that we can't actually manipulate.  Then the best they can say is, "Oh, yeah, in hindsight I guess we shoulda anticipated the serfs' puny intellect and done this or that.  We were so close.  And don't forget, the only reason I can see that is because I'm so smart".

Get painful ass-cancer and die Bernanke.

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 22:50 | 4510275 Hulk
Hulk's picture

and to illustrate your point with a real world example, I give thee:

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2014/02/i-crashed-a-wall-street-sec...

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 19:40 | 4509630 Seize Mars
Seize Mars's picture

Oh I'm overconfident alright.
God when will the lies end?
Paper money = lies, poverty and war

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 19:41 | 4509632 logicalman
logicalman's picture

3 words.

FUCK YOU BERNANKE

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 19:41 | 4509633 max2205
max2205's picture

Over CON Fident

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 19:58 | 4509720 lotsoffun
lotsoffun's picture

to my dismay  - i think they learned something from 2008.  once people start to 'check out' or 'clear their chips' - everybody has to show their cards, and the bets are off, table is swept and the game is over.

there are A LOT less players now, and the players in place have been told, and all agreed - the PONZI will  go on for as long as we like.  so as much as i thought jamie might try to trump lloyd, or vice-versa - they aren't going to.  because the wealth transfer is working, the money is being printed, it's being shifted into their pockets, they are buying more and more assets and eventually will (so they think and hope) rule the word.

of course, they know.  at one point it ends.  but at that point, what enormous amount of wealth will the rulers have sucked up?  and no upstarts like stanley o'neal or angelo mozila - these guys checked out and made a clear point, our firms are bankrupt, i'm out of here.  now - all these firms are bankrupt if they did the real accounting.  but - nobody checks out alive.

we are SO fucked.

 

 

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 20:21 | 4509778 Supernova Born
Supernova Born's picture

Supercalifragilisticexpialidouchebag.

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 20:24 | 4509830 TeamDepends
TeamDepends's picture

Antidisskeynsioprogressivism

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 23:51 | 4510429 tbone654
tbone654's picture

turbobenadildo

Wed, 03/05/2014 - 07:48 | 4511025 GetZeeGold
GetZeeGold's picture

 

 

SofaKingStewFed

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 19:41 | 4509634 kchrisc
kchrisc's picture

One word: Fraud.

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 19:41 | 4509636 betterlockaway
betterlockaway's picture

Wow. Nothing about hitting the LEH guys in the a$$? Nothing about getting BHO re-elected? I guess that's what you get for only $250K. How much does the good stuff cost? @$2mill?

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 19:57 | 4509718 elwind45
elwind45's picture

VOLCKER USED UP THE SERUM

Wed, 03/05/2014 - 07:51 | 4511028 GetZeeGold
GetZeeGold's picture

 

 

I always lock up the Adrenochrome when I know he's going to show up.

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 19:41 | 4509637 i_call_you_my_base
i_call_you_my_base's picture

Corruption.

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 19:43 | 4509643 monad
monad's picture

They trusted him again! The hits never stop coming! GOTCHA SUCKERS!

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 19:44 | 4509647 TeamDepends
TeamDepends's picture

NAFTA

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 19:45 | 4509650 idea_hamster
idea_hamster's picture

[duplicate]

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 20:00 | 4509725 TeamDepends
TeamDepends's picture

Yes, they clone [duplicate] themselves, fly off-world, let the clone get dragged in front of a Grand Jury, face the Death Penalty or simply get Fuddied, all the while laughing hysterically!!  Suckers!!!!

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 19:45 | 4509651 ms8172
ms8172's picture

DEUCHE!

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 19:45 | 4509653 Jendrzejczyk
Jendrzejczyk's picture

Terrorists

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 23:21 | 4510361 Sterling Rod
Sterling Rod's picture

This is the fewest down votes I have ever seen on a ZH article.

I guess all of us agree:  F U Bernanke!

 

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 19:49 | 4509654 Tall Tom
Tall Tom's picture

FRAUD.

 

 

That word, alone, sums the collapse up. It has been a big fraud from the start and continues to be a fraud.

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 20:41 | 4509698 NOTaREALmerican
NOTaREALmerican's picture

Re: It has been a big fraud from the start and continues to be a fraud.

However,  what percentage has to be in on the fraud for it to NOT be considered fraud?

The top 20% know it's fraud.   They are running the frauds.   When does fraud become "how society works".

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 22:22 | 4510158 Tall Tom
Tall Tom's picture

All of society is in on the fraud.

 

A fraud is a fraud no matter how many are doing it. It is not about perception or how one chooses to justify it. It is not about percentages.

 

Example..."The Housing Market Meltdown"

 

People took out loans that they could not afford. This was not isolated behavior but widespread and endemic behavior. Their wages were not adequate to make the payments. They were gaming the system because of the ever increasing Home Prices. They began to refinance and take out loans on their "equity" (Equity is the amount of wealth that is paid into the home and is REAL. The "equity" cashed out were "Paper Gains".)

 

The Mortgage issuers were fraudulent in issuing these loans. They did not prudently act and allowed the NINJA loans to be issued. Even with all of this happening some were still excluded from participation. (Due to circumstances I was excluded from participating as I was not "Politically Correct" enough.)

 

It does not matter. I still participated in other frauds and still do so today.

 

I spend worthless US Dollars and get goods and services for those notes. The currency of the entire Nation is built upon a fraud. There is no way we will ever be able to repay the debt owed. We know that. And yet we pass them. Few may stop and think about what they are doing. Most do not.

 

It does not make it any less fraudulent that others pass those same valueless, counterfeit notes. I am even more complicit than most because I know that it is a fraud.

 

The entire currency of a Nation is based upon fraud. I suffer great guilt as a result for using them. There is no justification and I look at myself with total contempt.

 

I have no alternatives. I cannot think of any solution whatsoever. That does not alleviate my responsibility.

 

I may not be printing them. But I demand them and I use them...KNOWINGLY. If there was no demand for them then I would not be able to act fraudulently. But so many others are far too willing to participate and they demand as many as they can get. It is disgusting. They are addicted to the Enslavement Notes. (Debt is slavery. And they are Debtor Notes.)

 

(I am not one of the 20% that you write about. I just happen to store my wealth, what little I have, in PMs. I have opted out as much as I could. But it is not enough. The sad part is that I traded those fraudulent notes for PMs)

 

We deserve all that we are going to get when it collapses...ALL OF IT.

Wed, 03/05/2014 - 01:37 | 4510661 Anusocracy
Anusocracy's picture

I've long thought that psychopathy was a spectrum disoder and the behavior of the public constantly reinforces that belief.

A society would describe a bell curve with dangerous people like serial killers and politicians on one end and the asocial leave me alone Aspergers/autists on the other end.  If the population shifts to the psycho end - like now - decivilization.

If it shifts towards the Aspergers end - more individualists and engineers - progress and civilization.

The ratio of the two types of cognition is a major determinant of the level of civilization.

Wed, 03/05/2014 - 02:13 | 4510727 Tall Tom
Tall Tom's picture

Yeah. I suspect that I might be mildly afflicted with Aspergers Syndrome. I was born Brain Damaged...seriously...with Cerebral Palsy. But I do not believe that I am afflicted with psycopathy.

 

Now I might be more Avoidant (from Cluster C --Anxious), perhaps a little Schzoid (Cluster A--Odd). But I am not Antisocial (from Cluster B--Dramatic) which is necessary for the Psychopathic Personality. I am generally Law Abiding, believe in Truth and Honesty, and do not take unnecessary risks. I am not narcissistic, at least I do not see that.

 

Your spectrum hypothesis is worthy but the disorders are a little more complex. Many people have traits of many disorders while not having enough traits of any disorder to be diagnosed.

 

Good post. (And how did you guess?)

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 19:45 | 4509658 riphowardkatz
riphowardkatz's picture

that the majority of conservatives and progressives actually buy into the nonsense that the only way to help the "average" person is to do what he callsare very distasteful things is astounding.

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 20:20 | 4509816 Wait What
Wait What's picture

the only way to help the average call girl is to do REALLY distatesful things to her, but in the end, no pun intended, she's better off. that i enjoy it is the sacrifice i am willing to make to stimulate her economy.

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 19:45 | 4509659 Spastica Rex
Spastica Rex's picture

I just don't fucking care.

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 20:09 | 4509773 infinity8
infinity8's picture

I have (wonderful) days when I think I've gotten there (completely don't-give-a-shit). But, really, my head keeps exploding.

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 19:46 | 4509660 Spungo
Spungo's picture

Maybe they were overconfident because YOU KEPT BAILING PEOPLE OUT. That, and you actively encouraged overconfidence. He said people should leverage their house to buy shit or leverage their house to bet on the stock market. He never said people should spend less and get their finances in a more stable position. 

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 19:46 | 4509662 disabledvet
disabledvet's picture

Ironically the best thing for the US stock market and US economy right now is a full scale Russian Invasion...all the way to Paris.

Lest people forget "we supplied the Russians with weapons in World War II."
I do agree..."but, but...there are Americans over there!"
Having said that...as has been pointed out in these here parts quite consistently "we've been scaling back a lot of late."

I mean...the USA faces no energy crisis...we're by far the world's largest energy producer...and when last I checked we weren't at war with anyone.

May Putin really is an "evil genius" after all...

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 20:03 | 4509742 elwind45
elwind45's picture

This is French so hold your ears. Buy on the sound of the cannons and sell on first note of trumpet

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 19:46 | 4509664 agent default
agent default's picture

The more I look at who is running the world, the more I learn to stop worrying and love the bomb.

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 19:47 | 4509667 monad
monad's picture

Hitman

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 19:47 | 4509668 joego1
joego1's picture

The UAE let's Jew's in?

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 19:50 | 4509684 NOTaREALmerican
NOTaREALmerican's picture

The top 10% doesn't care who you are.   As long as you've enriched the top 10% you'll be welcome at top 10% functions.

Works for the schools of the top 10%, the restaurants of the top 10%, and clubs of the top 10%.  

The top 10% is inclusive that way.    

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 19:55 | 4509709 nathan1234
nathan1234's picture

 

They hold their money and their balls.

 

Wed, 03/12/2014 - 02:04 | 4537518 Schmuck Raker
Schmuck Raker's picture

You're a fuckin' maroon.

Stick with "First!".

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 19:47 | 4509670 rickv404
rickv404's picture

Naturally these guys are going to blame anything but themselves, and there are enough gullible, even among conservatives, that will believe them. Bernanke was merely the catalyst, however. The culprit was government, under both Bush and Obama and their parties in congress, spending immensely.

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 19:48 | 4509672 lewietheparrot
lewietheparrot's picture

Tyler,

Please, it would save everyone a lot of wasted time on 'Bernanke/Fed' stories if you could just keep a copy of a long page or two of former posts, and run it with the story.

We always say the same thing, anyway.

Thanks

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 20:43 | 4509893 Ness.
Ness.'s picture

I believe this was Bernake's first public speech since he left the FED, so this story is relevant.  You're comment... not so much.

You read it and took the time to post a comment.  Click on a few ads while you're here too, dumbass.

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 23:54 | 4510437 e_goldstein
e_goldstein's picture

Fuck you, Lewie.

oh and Fuck you too, Bernanke.

Wed, 03/05/2014 - 02:01 | 4510706 lewietheparrot
lewietheparrot's picture

Damn, goldstein

I thought you had a sense of humor

and you turn out so violent, also

or was it sarc

yeah, I get it now---you were sarcastic and not personal

Thanks for the post, bro'

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 19:48 | 4509674 Harry Dong
Harry Dong's picture

Tyler, I hear your anger and raise it.

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 19:50 | 4509681 TrustWho
TrustWho's picture

What a gig! $250,000 for BULLSHIT!

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 21:47 | 4510064 Vendetta
Vendetta's picture

Nonsense, bernanke gave the average billionaire in UAE time to get all their wealth out of toxic assets.

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 19:50 | 4509682 SameAsItEverWas
SameAsItEverWas's picture

We woulda all been better off if he stuck to the original Helicopter Ben moniker and dusted the country with small bills.

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 19:50 | 4509683 rsnoble
rsnoble's picture

Perfuckingception?

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 19:52 | 4509692 smacker
smacker's picture

And just to think, people actually pay money to listen to braindead idiots like Bernanke in the belief they know what they're talking about.

And we wonder why the life blood of our economies is draining away...

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 21:07 | 4509954 lotsoffun
lotsoffun's picture

smacker - this is just camel jockeys paying blood money to the guy that kept the pumps (creating fake dollars to buy arab oil) flowing.  he printed they sold, they got $$, they took those still good 'reserve bank' dollars to paris, bought the champagne and bitches, thumbed at allah, broke all the rules.  he enabled.  everybody is happy.

Wed, 03/05/2014 - 01:13 | 4510626 SmackDaddy
SmackDaddy's picture

and now that the party is just about over, let a woman take over as a fucking joke

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 19:53 | 4509701 Schmuck Raker
Schmuck Raker's picture

Fuck you Bernanke!

And stay in Abu Dhabi.

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 19:55 | 4509706 blindman
blindman's picture

why does any confidence game fail?
there a question, where is my paycheck?

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 19:58 | 4509717 Shizzmoney
Shizzmoney's picture

RE

Bernanke is 100% certain he could have done more to help the average person, because the Fed's balance sheet trickle down eventually works.

Bernanke himself is a Republican.  He's a big believer in the "trickle down" theory.

Which is why 70% of us are now drenched in piss.

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 19:58 | 4509721 Saratoga
Saratoga's picture

Planned

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 19:59 | 4509724 nmewn
nmewn's picture

"I came from the academic background and I was used to making hypothetical examples and ... I learned I can't do that because the markets do not understand hypotheticals."

You discovered "the markets" are run by schizophrenics AFTER you left academia?

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 20:00 | 4509726 elwind45
elwind45's picture

Poor people and paulson

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 20:01 | 4509727 medium giraffe
medium giraffe's picture

Khazaria!

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 20:01 | 4509732 Aquarius
Aquarius's picture

No, no, no, no.

The reason was: "Political Expediency".

or, IOW, theft, lies, love of torturing people who are chained so that they can't move but just scream from the perversions which never sate; the preference to War, killing, genocide and destroying everything that either moves or doesn't move; the love of Power that comes from being a coward and is enhanced by being able to direct a huge Military policing and attack force with a nuclear arsenal that could destroy the planet, and being so totally ignorant and self centred that your own humanity is of no concern to you nor the humanity of the other 7+ billions on the planet and your apathy towards life itself and the belief that if you inject and sniff enough White Lady, you become truly a God; a God destined to destroy Universal Life itself.

Or maybe it is that one inch erection you have when rub yourself with FedRes fiat while wallowing in the Mahogony lined halls of your pretentious castles with all your faunting Court calling out your praises and glories so that even God kneels before you...

Or, again, maybe, it is just because you and your cult are just all barbarian knuckle-dragging, know nothing vile and feral beasts and morons, left over from a previous age still worshipping your dark gods with the blood sacrifices of your tribal traditions?

But "Political Expediency" really sums it up; And, it is called "Economic Theory".

Ho hum

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 20:16 | 4509801 SKY85hawk
SKY85hawk's picture

"The gods first make him crazy before destroying him"

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 23:10 | 4510328 monad
monad's picture

Sane is a human concept.

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 20:09 | 4509736 Wait What
Wait What's picture

when you can change the rules of the game as you go along to suit your logic, is it any wonder the Fed keeps taking risks with america's reserve status? neither Greenspan, Bernanke, nor Yellen will ever be honest about what is going on in the economy because it would cause a historical unwind that would make the Greater Depression look like a dip in the Bahamas. They have to keep lying, and they will keep lying, as long as they keep failing. unfortunately, they think 'at some point, this has to work, is has failed too many times.' like a roulette player losing on red for the 100th time, it has to come up black the next time.

Bernanke always does a good job of confirming my core beliefs: there are two ways of making a lot of money, take it from the unsuspecting and ignorant, or be born to someone who has done it to someone else.

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 21:15 | 4509972 Cacete de Ouro
Cacete de Ouro's picture

Sorry..can't look at that face... The avatar Makes me sick

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 20:03 | 4509737 Rakshas
Rakshas's picture

I'll take "Failure of Imagination" for a thousand Alex

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 20:04 | 4509745 freakscene
freakscene's picture

'irrational exuberance' was already taken - so he dumbs it down with 'overconfidence'

thanks ben

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 20:04 | 4509750 phoolish
phoolish's picture

The Bernank.  Always the life of the party.

 

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 20:09 | 4509775 Xandrino
Xandrino's picture

apples and oranges..apples and oranges bla bla bla..

 

Fuck you Bernanke!

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 20:10 | 4509779 J J Pettigrew
J J Pettigrew's picture

Overconfidence....

Like in believing in Phillips curve theories, etc?

The "know it all society" from PRinceton....et al you and Krugman?

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 20:11 | 4509782 Wilcox1
Wilcox1's picture

Fed chair doesn't pay 250k?

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 20:19 | 4509810 earl swagger
earl swagger's picture

Lowest bidder bias.

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 21:01 | 4509935 lotsoffun
lotsoffun's picture

he got gamed also.  believe me, jamie and lloyd will hang bennie fucking boy before they go.  but - he got to tour the fed reserve tungsten vault with his 'big stong driver' and a big duffle bag once a year. it's called year end bonus.  bennie did fine, trust me.

 

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 20:14 | 4509787 ebworthen
ebworthen's picture

"Overconfidence" eh?

So Ben, perhaps if the FED wasn't there with a safety net and Trillions of taxpayer dollars the gamblers in the Wall Street Casino would not have been "overconfident"?

You either know this and are an abject liar - or a personage who defines the word "dullard".

One or the other, and nothing inbetween.

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 20:16 | 4509800 Waterfallsparkles
Waterfallsparkles's picture

$250,000. for one word.

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 20:17 | 4509803 mumcard
mumcard's picture

It's hard to gyp the man responsible for the inflation.

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 20:17 | 4509807 Cacete de Ouro
Cacete de Ouro's picture

Fuck you bernanke, and all the CCTV coverage the Rothschilds have of you at sex parties with hookers

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 21:50 | 4510083 Vendetta
Vendetta's picture

What goes on at Bohemian Grove stays in Bohemian Grove.

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 20:18 | 4509808 BrigstockBoy
BrigstockBoy's picture

How about clueless, as in the Fed? Oh, they're a scheming bunch of bastards (and bitches) and can generally figure out a way to manipulate events to their advantage but I think the answer is they fucked up because they couldn't see the forest from the trees.

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 20:19 | 4509813 kurt
kurt's picture

You can take everything Bibi Bernanke says and mix it with what Moisha Greenspan says, put it in a compost bin with some food scraps, coffee grounds, and rotten cabbage. Wait two weeks and its more potent than pure shit. But don't put in the garden because nobody should eat that.

 

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 20:58 | 4509926 lotsoffun
lotsoffun's picture

kurt - thanks!  those are our 'green shoots'!

 

 

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 20:20 | 4509818 Seasmoke
Seasmoke's picture

That he shows his face in public, shows he did not learn the lesson of being overconfident. The next time, the lesson may be very painful for Bernanke.

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 20:21 | 4509819 logicalman
logicalman's picture

When I look at the image at the top of the post, all I can think is he's praying.....

Please, God, don't let me have to answer for my sins.

Any decent god would assign him to the hottest corner of hell.

But, I'm an atheist, so there's no comfort in that thought.

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 20:30 | 4509843 NOTaREALmerican
NOTaREALmerican's picture

He simply did what anybody in the top 10% would have done.   Tried to keep the system, that the top 10% got rich off of for the last 60+ years, going.  

The top 10% is 30 million people.  That's a huge number of people doing REALLY REALLY well under the current system.

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 21:43 | 4510052 logicalman
logicalman's picture

85 people control as much wealth as the poorest 3.5 billion on planet earth.

There just HAS to be something wrong with that.

 

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 21:54 | 4510094 Vendetta
Vendetta's picture

I know 85 people who don't think there is anything wrong with it.

Wed, 03/05/2014 - 00:48 | 4510584 Anusocracy
Anusocracy's picture

I don't think that that would be very likely to happen in a free market economy and no government.

It apparently is 100% probable in a government run economy without a free market.

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 20:55 | 4509920 lotsoffun
lotsoffun's picture

bernake is of the faith - they don't believe in afterlife, there are some positives to that, if you are open minded.  the chosen believe that if you do good things now, they will be rewarded now.  (well shortly thereafter in this life). and if you do bad things now, well... i'm not certain how that works.  maybe you get to be head of a big bank.

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 20:24 | 4509825 mark mchugh
mark mchugh's picture

Overconfidence, huh?

You mean like this:

Bernanke: There's No Housing Bubble to Go Bust

"Ben S. Bernanke does not think the national housing boom is a bubble that is about to burst, he indicated to Congress last week, just a few days before President Bush nominated him to become the next chairman of the Federal Reserve.

U.S. house prices have risen by nearly 25 percent over the past two years, noted Bernanke, currently chairman of the president's Council of Economic Advisers, in testimony to Congress's Joint Economic Committee. But these increases, he said, "largely reflect strong economic fundamentals," such as strong growth in jobs, incomes and the number of new households."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/26/AR200510...

Can I get a "Fuck You Bernanke!"?


Tue, 03/04/2014 - 23:00 | 4510303 NihilistZero
NihilistZero's picture

FUCK YOU BERNANKE!!!

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 20:24 | 4509827 NihilistZero
NihilistZero's picture

“The result was there are still many people after the crisis who still feel that it was unfair that some companies got helped and small banks and small business and average families didn’t get direct help,” Bernanke said. “It’s a hard perception to break.”

Perhaps because that perception is the REALITY you fuck nut.  I don't believe I will ever hate anyone the rest of my life more than I hate these banker scum.  The Hubris.  The evil intent.  The lust (for power) that makes porn addicts look like saintsTruly digusting.

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 20:43 | 4509829 AdvancingTime
AdvancingTime's picture

I guessed wrong, I thought he would say derivatives, leverage, to many crooks, or contagion. It is possible Ben is wrong again as to the real cause of the crash. More on why we are open for another even bigger crash in the article below that looks at the massive derivatives market,

http://brucewilds.blogspot.com/2014/03/derivatives-house-of-cards.html

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 20:25 | 4509832 elwind45
elwind45's picture

Once mortgages were being written that required only interest payments and many of the buyers only payed interest the mortgage pools suffered a shortfall. The income was backed by a monoline insurance pool which acted as a backstops and that was all it did. Once mortgages started going bust it affected confidence in the mortgage pools and housing in general. Now the mortgage themselves came under review and well AAA was not AAA and someone needs to either make a payment or ask government for help or CALL WARREN BUFFETT at the garden party wait Paulson is in central park kicking trees and drinking tea? Or Planning Blackmail? HELL NO MARSHALL LAW. GIVE ME 750BILLLION DOLLARS I GIVE YOU BLANK PAPER. and QE is born?

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 20:26 | 4509835 Backtable
Backtable's picture

Lemme get this straight. The Fed bailed out and continues to bail out the Too Big Too Jail banks with trillions in future tax payer obligations and The Bernanke has the audcaity, or sheer numb nuts inability, to see how profoundly hypocritical it is for him to say;

My natural inclinations, even if it weren’t for the legal mandate, would be to try to help the average person."

Yeah pal, you helped alright. Helped yourself to the little guy's wallet to bailout all your bankster ho buddies.

Do us a favor. Don't do us anymore favors.

 

 

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 20:50 | 4509908 lotsoffun
lotsoffun's picture

i'm a few stoli's in.  can somebody explain for me 'even if it weren't for the legal mandate bit' of this?

does this mean ' i don't like the 'legal mandate' of creating employment (which, is the new invented mandate, from what i remember), but despite that mandate, i would like to help out the little guy'.

cook my fucking socks.  what a liar.  i can see the crocodile tears.

 

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 20:59 | 4509837 khakuda
khakuda's picture

Does one help the average guy by paying him no interest for a decade, thus discouraging him from saving?

Does it help him to force him to go into debt just to pay for the inflated cost of housing, education and healthcare where massive leverage is encouraged (housing) and government participation and too low interest rates allows the price to skyrocket (all 3)?  Does it help to then jump in and not allow prices to correct?

Does it help the average guy to make debt cheap and income taxes on private equity guys at 15% to encourage them to buy your company so you can get fired?  How about making debt so cheap that borrowing to buy back stock is more attractive than investing for growth?

I could go on and on, but suffice it to say that no, Mr. Bernanke, you are not helping the average guy.

Nor will you be helping the temporarily rich stock owner or overall economy when the current bubble and economic misallocation party ends.

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 20:28 | 4509841 22winmag
22winmag's picture

I call that bold talk for a one-eyed fat man.

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 20:29 | 4509845 yrbmegr
yrbmegr's picture

I guess "fraud" was a bridge too far.

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 20:29 | 4509848 muleskinner
muleskinner's picture

He's a dumbass.  Just your plain old garden variety dumbass.

No dumber dumbass exists.  The dumbest dumbass anyone could possibly be.

The superlative does no good, it won't work.

Just a plain dumbass is all that is necessary.

That's Ben Bernanke.

You're a stupid ass too. 

How's that, dumbass?

 

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 20:29 | 4509850 Practical Cogitator
Practical Cogitator's picture

Where are the guillotines when they're needed?

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 20:31 | 4509855 lasvegaspersona
lasvegaspersona's picture

different day different ridiculous explanation....but none dare speak the truth....cuz it is uglier than a wrestler's prom date

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 20:35 | 4509869 WhiteWolf
WhiteWolf's picture

Time to kill some bankers...central bankers.

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 20:35 | 4509870 Black Warrior W...
Black Warrior Waterdog's picture

FUCKINGASSHOLE

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 20:35 | 4509871 Papasmurf
Papasmurf's picture

Bernanke's science fair project is complete.

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 20:39 | 4509877 Richard Whitney
Richard Whitney's picture

I am vey underconfident now.

Are we then safe?

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 21:57 | 4510099 Vendetta
Vendetta's picture

Yeah we're safe ... like Laurence Olivier drilling on Dustin Hoffman's tooth in 'Marathon Man'

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 23:13 | 4510334 monad
monad's picture

So you understand now what happened to Germany? And Tsarist Russia?

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 20:48 | 4509903 Xandrino
Xandrino's picture

Please don't forget this is all done by design! He knows he's bringing the country down, that's been the plan since 1913 bitchezzz

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 20:51 | 4509911 ChargingHandle
ChargingHandle's picture

A much nicer word than GREED

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 20:54 | 4509918 Ban KKiller
Ban KKiller's picture

Yeah, that did come to mind.

AKA, chasing yield.

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 20:54 | 4509917 moneybots
moneybots's picture

"overconfidence."

 

Who's intelligence is Bernanke trying to insult?

Create a bubble, it bursts and deflates.  It was a record bubble.   It was a record financial fraud.

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 20:59 | 4509927 knicks3005
knicks3005's picture

I got 3 words: FUCK YOU BERNANKE!

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 20:59 | 4509930 Less than Zero
Less than Zero's picture

"Overconfidence" did U.S. in, I had it all wrong I guess. I thought it was because it was an orchestrated collapse in order to help bring in the New Order of the Ages with a global currency. 

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 20:59 | 4509931 nakki
nakki's picture

He's just a very well paid asshat. Never really in charge of anything just an academic hack "who scored a 1600 on the SAT and was a genius when it came to the great depression". Such fucking bullshit and now he gets paid $250000 to speak to a bunch of other psychopaths. The sad thing is he probably believes the shit he says although the way his lip use to quiver when he spoke berhaps not? Please enough already about this guy being the most powerful man in the world. He was and always will be just another bed actor.

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 21:03 | 4509939 rosiescenario
rosiescenario's picture

...overconfidence   =  the  inability to be able to perceive risks associated with any given task or action.

 

So, Ben has been reading a bit of Taleb? You would think that after the implosion of LTC that just maybe one of these phd's might have realized that there are risks and that they may of course come from an unexpected quarter....kind of like a black swan.....

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 21:05 | 4509951 Prometheus the ...
Prometheus the Jester's picture

I hear $250,000 won't even buy you a cup of ice water in hell.

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 21:08 | 4509952 Hubbs
Hubbs's picture

My God,  the people have let idiots and greed monsters take control of the country. As one reporter said recently , or words to the effect: "Everything Obama touches turns to shit." (The new anti-Midas.)

The country would be much better if we got him a full time caddy so that he could stay on the golf courses rather than in the White House. Too bad OJ Simpson is in jail and couldn't join him. What a pair they would make in a golf cart: OJ searching for the real killer of  Nicole and Goldman, and Obama trying to find something that he can do other than read teleprompters.

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 21:26 | 4509998 hangemhigh77
hangemhigh77's picture

Plus we could drone bomb the golf cart and get two for the price of one.

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 21:07 | 4509955 moneybots
moneybots's picture

"This is going to sound very obvious but the first thing we learned is that the U.S. is not invulnerable to financial crises," Bernanke said.

So Bernanke didn't study The Great Depression, as he said he did.

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 21:13 | 4509968 nakki
nakki's picture

No Ben it collapsed because we create nothing but debt in this country. It collapsed because the banks can make terrible loans and create fiat out of thin air. It collapsed because we have no accounting standards. It collapsed because the psychopaths who own the printing press will always be bailed out and in the long run own everything that has some value. How hard is it to make bad loans for housing and when those loans go bad take back the property and print money to cover the loan. If you don't understand that than you're an idiot or still lying through your quivering lips. Its so simple even a chimp like myself understands how it works. Now stfu and go suck Mr Yellens dick.

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 21:14 | 4509971 Silverballs
Silverballs's picture

Oh that's what it was I feel sooooo stupid now!! I thought it was all the fraud! elites gaming the system selling garbage stamped triple AAA into pensions the media constantly pushing the fraud to sucker as many people as possible before they pulled the rug out from their own scam.. Then again the public did fall for it so they have know one to blame but themselves at the end of the day

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 21:15 | 4509973 moneybots
moneybots's picture

My natural inclinations, even if it weren’t for the legal mandate, would be to try to help the average person,”

 

That is a lie. 

The average person was not Bernanke's constituent.  ZIRP harmed the average person, who was paid ZERO on their savings, while he ramped asset inflation for the rich.

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 21:16 | 4509977 QQQBall
QQQBall's picture

LEVERAGE

Wed, 03/05/2014 - 12:47 | 4512156 Raging Debate
Raging Debate's picture

ROBBERY

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 21:23 | 4509987 hangemhigh77
hangemhigh77's picture

Gee, I can't WAIT for his book.  The "perception" that the Fed did JACK FUCKING SHIT for the "average" guy, which I guess Berfucktard doesn't include himself. More like FUCKING REALITY YOU ASSWIPE FUCK CLOWN!!!  I love his forehead, a nice 50 caliber round would fit right between his eyes very nicely.  Gee, thanks for helping me out Bentard by giving the banks 28 trillion dollars, it sure helped me lots you FUCKING DUECHBAG MOTHERFUCKER.

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 21:26 | 4509999 moneybots
moneybots's picture

“The complexity though arises because in order to help the average person, you have to do things -- very distasteful things -- like try to prevent some large financial companies from collapsing.”

 

A lie. 

 

The average person was not helped by bailing out the well connected filthy rich.

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 21:31 | 4510007 hangemhigh77
hangemhigh77's picture

there is not ONE positive post on here about that lying thieving piece of shit fucktard assclown motherfucker cocksucker pole smoking shit eating Berdickhead.  Who does this shit sucking asslicking dumbass conehead think he's fooling.  Just because the people have no power and can't do anything Bershithole, doesn't mean we're STUPID and don't know WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON!!  Get brain cancer Bershithole.

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 21:32 | 4510010 Pol Pot
Pol Pot's picture

Oh Ben...say it taint so.....

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 21:33 | 4510015 californiagirl
californiagirl's picture

He forgot 2 words:  "Overconfident" bank criminals

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 21:36 | 4510024 hangemhigh77
hangemhigh77's picture

I can'[t believe anyone would pay this REEEEEEEEEEEEETARD to actual speak to them about anything.  Maybe he could speak to them about lying, stealing, lying, stealing, cleaning toilets, sucking cock, eating shit, you know things that he's an expert on. Whoever actually PAID this criminal is dumber than he is. People actually LISTENED to this BULLSHIT!!???  Did they actually clap?  I would have taken a shit and thrown it at him. Welcome to the Monkey House Motherfucker.

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 21:40 | 4510030 I Write Code
I Write Code's picture

Overconfidence.

That's what let Lehman and others jack up their leverage to a zillion.

That's what let us repeal Glass-Steagall so *my* money got mixed up with Goldman-Sachs and all the other banksters, so I get to repay their losses.

That's why we allowed AIG and others to build up trillions in unhedged, speculative positions.

That's what lets banksters suck billions in "salary" from the market every year for their sweaty, hard, brilliant work.

That's what lead the US to outsource all real product manufacturing to China.

Yeah, overconfidence.

Well, Bernanke's an idiot, then.

But that's just talk about what came before.  What I want to hear him about is what came after.  AFTER he decided we'd been overconfident, what about then?  Helping the little people, really?  Did you hand out even one lollipop?  Is that really the Fed's mission?  Do you even have any lollipops to hand out, there at the Fed?  You can't print them, you know.

This is how the world ends, not with a bang but a buffoon.

 

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 21:38 | 4510033 hangemhigh77
hangemhigh77's picture

This motherfucker did more damage to the world than any army has done EVER.  HE IS THE BIGGEST TERRORIST ON EARTH. Drone bomb this cocksucker.

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 21:42 | 4510042 hangemhigh77
hangemhigh77's picture

Hey Berfucktard, if you're reading ZH know this, there are LOTS of us and we HATE YOUR FUCKING GUTS.  We will all be there when we march your DUMBASS up the gallows and FUCKING HANG YOU FOR TREASON!!!!  Millions will figure your shit out and then the NEXT speaking engagement you'll attend is YOUR OWN FUCKING HANGING and the omly words you'll speak then will be your LAST FUCKING WORDS, motherfucker.

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 21:42 | 4510048 are we there yet
are we there yet's picture

Sounds like intellectual flatulance Ben. In your next life get a real job.

Tue, 03/04/2014 - 21:46 | 4510056 optimator
optimator's picture

If I paid to hear that speech I'd have DEMANDED my money back.  I'll bet the first ZHer to report his 250 K paycheck to IRS at the end of the year will get a 10% bonus as these guys, smart as they are, seem to forget to report income.

Do NOT follow this link or you will be banned from the site!