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Ben Bernanke Testifies On "The State Of The US Economy"
Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke will testify at House Budget Committee (Chairman Paul Ryan, R-WI) full committee hearing on "The State of the U.S. Economy." The highlight of today's hearing will be watching Bernanke face his nemesis runner up, Paul Ryan, who will surely grill Blackhawk Ben with questions that are far more intelligent than the press corps could come up with during the last FOMC canned remark presentation. Watch the full testimony live at C-Span after the jump.
Prepared remarks word cloud:
Full testimony:
Chairman Ben S. Bernanke
The Economic Outlook and the Federal Budget Situation
Before the Committee on the Budget, U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, D.C.
February 2, 2012
Chairman Ryan, Vice Chairman Garrett, Ranking Member Van Hollen, and other members of the Committee, I appreciate this opportunity to discuss my views on the economic outlook, monetary policy, and the challenges facing federal fiscal policymakers.
The Economic Outlook
Over the past two and a half years, the U.S. economy has been gradually recovering from the recent deep recession. While conditions have certainly improved over this period, the pace of the recovery has been frustratingly slow, particularly from the perspective of the millions of workers who remain unemployed or underemployed. Moreover, the sluggish expansion has left the economy vulnerable to shocks. Indeed, last year, supply chain disruptions stemming from the earthquake in Japan, a surge in the prices of oil and other commodities, and spillovers from the European debt crisis risked derailing the recovery. Fortunately, over the past few months, indicators of spending, production, and job market activity have shown some signs of improvement; and, in economic projections just released, Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) participants indicated that they expect somewhat stronger growth this year than in 2011. The outlook remains uncertain, however, and close monitoring of economic developments will remain necessary.
As is often the case, the ability and willingness of households to spend will be an important determinant of the pace at which the economy expands in coming quarters. Although real consumer spending rose moderately last quarter, households continue to face significant headwinds. Notably, real household income and wealth stagnated in 2011, and access to credit remained tight for many potential borrowers. Consumer sentiment has improved from the summer's depressed levels but remains at levels that are still quite low by historical standards.
Household spending will depend heavily on developments in the labor market. Overall, the jobs situation does appear to have improved modestly over the past year: Private payroll employment increased by about 160,000 jobs per month in 2011, the unemployment rate fell by about 1 percentage point, and new claims for unemployment insurance declined somewhat. Nevertheless, as shown by indicators like the rate of unemployment and the ratio of employment to population, we still have a long way to go before the labor market can be said to be operating normally. Particularly troubling is the unusually high level of long-term unemployment: More than 40 percent of the unemployed have been jobless for more than six months, roughly double the fraction during the economic expansion of the previous decade.
Uncertain job prospects, along with tight mortgage credit conditions, continue to hold back the demand for housing. Although low interest rates on conventional mortgages and the drop in home prices in recent years have greatly improved the affordability of housing, both residential sales and construction remain depressed. A persistent excess supply of vacant homes, largely stemming from foreclosures, is keeping downward pressure on prices and limiting the demand for new construction.
In contrast to the household sector, the business sector has been a relative bright spot in the current recovery. Manufacturing production has increased 15 percent since its trough, and capital spending by businesses has expanded briskly over the past two years, driven in part by the need to replace aging equipment and software. Moreover, many U.S. firms, notably in manufacturing but also in services, have benefited from strong demand from foreign markets over the past few years.
More recently, the pace of growth in business investment has slowed, likely reflecting concerns about both the domestic outlook and developments in Europe. However, there are signs that these concerns are abating somewhat. If business confidence continues to improve, U.S. firms should be well positioned to increase both capital spending and hiring: Larger businesses are still able to obtain credit at historically low interest rates, and corporate balance sheets are strong. And, though many smaller businesses continue to face difficulties in obtaining credit, surveys indicate that credit conditions have begun to improve modestly for those firms as well.
Globally, economic activity appears to be slowing, restrained in part by spillovers from fiscal and financial developments in Europe. The combination of high debt levels and weak growth prospects in a number of European countries has raised significant concerns about their fiscal situations, leading to substantial increases in sovereign borrowing costs, concerns about the health of European banks, and associated reductions in confidence and the availability of credit in the euro area. Resolving these problems will require concerted action on the part of European authorities. They are working hard to address their fiscal and financial challenges. Nonetheless, risks remain that developments in Europe or elsewhere may unfold unfavorably and could worsen economic prospects here at home. We are in frequent contact with European authorities, and we will continue to monitor the situation closely and take every available step to protect the U.S. financial system and the economy.
Let me now turn to a discussion of inflation. As we had anticipated, overall consumer price inflation moderated considerably over the course of 2011. In the first half of the year, a surge in the prices of gasoline and food--along with some pass-through of these higher prices to other goods and services--had pushed consumer inflation higher. Around the same time, supply disruptions associated with the disaster in Japan put upward pressure on motor vehicle prices. As expected, however, the impetus from these influences faded in the second half of the year, leading inflation to decline from an annual rate of about 3-1/2 percent in the first half of 2011 to about 1-1/2 percent in the second half--close to its average pace in the preceding two years. In an environment of well-anchored inflation expectations, more-stable commodity prices, and substantial slack in labor and product markets, we expect inflation to remain subdued.
Against that backdrop, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) decided last week to maintain its highly accommodative stance of monetary policy. In particular, the Committee decided to continue its program to extend the average maturity of its securities holdings, to maintain its existing policy of reinvesting principal payments on its portfolio of securities, and to keep the target range for the federal funds rate at 0 to 1/4 percent. The Committee now anticipates that economic conditions are likely to warrant exceptionally low levels of the federal funds rate at least through late 2014.
As part of our ongoing effort to increase the transparency and predictability of monetary policy, following its January meeting the FOMC released a statement intended to provide greater clarity about the Committee's longer-term goals and policy strategy.1 The statement begins by emphasizing the Federal Reserve's firm commitment to pursue its congressional mandate to foster stable prices and maximum employment. To clarify how it seeks to achieve these objectives, the FOMC stated its collective view that inflation at the rate of 2 percent, as measured by the annual change in the price index for personal consumption expenditures, is most consistent over the longer run with the Federal Reserve's statutory mandate; and it indicated that the central tendency of FOMC participants' current estimates of the longer-run normal rate of unemployment is between 5.2 and 6.0 percent. The statement noted that these statutory objectives are generally complementary, but when they are not, the Committee will take a balanced approach in its efforts to return both inflation and employment to their desired levels.
Fiscal Policy Challenges
In the remainder of my remarks, I would like to briefly discuss the fiscal challenges facing your Committee and the country. The federal budget deficit widened appreciably with the onset of the recent recession, and it has averaged around 9 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) over the past three fiscal years. This exceptional increase in the deficit has mostly reflected the automatic cyclical response of revenues and spending to a weak economy as well as the fiscal actions taken to ease the recession and aid the recovery. As the economy continues to expand and stimulus policies are phased out, the budget deficit should narrow over the next few years.
Unfortunately, even after economic conditions have returned to normal, the nation will still face a sizable structural budget gap if current budget policies continue. Using information from the recent budget outlook by the Congressional Budget Office, one can construct a projection for the federal deficit assuming that most expiring tax provisions are extended and that Medicare's physician payment rates are held at their current level. Under these assumptions, the budget deficit would be more than 4 percent of GDP in fiscal year 2017, assuming that the economy is then close to full employment.2 Of even greater concern is that longer-run projections, based on plausible assumptions about the evolution of the economy and budget under current policies, show the structural budget gap increasing significantly further over time and the ratio of outstanding federal debt to GDP rising rapidly. This dynamic is clearly unsustainable.
These structural fiscal imbalances did not emerge overnight. To a significant extent, they are the result of an aging population and, especially, fast-rising health-care costs, both of which have been predicted for decades. Notably, the Congressional Budget Office projects that net federal outlays for health-care entitlements--which were about 5 percent of GDP in fiscal 2011--could rise to more than 9 percent of GDP by 2035.3 Although we have been warned about such developments for many years, the time when projections become reality is coming closer.
Having a large and increasing level of government debt relative to national income runs the risk of serious economic consequences. Over the longer term, the current trajectory of federal debt threatens to crowd out private capital formation and thus reduce productivity growth. To the extent that increasing debt is financed by borrowing from abroad, a growing share of our future income would be devoted to interest payments on foreign-held federal debt. High levels of debt also impair the ability of policymakers to respond effectively to future economic shocks and other adverse events.
Even the prospect of unsustainable deficits has costs, including an increased possibility of a sudden fiscal crisis. As we have seen in a number of countries recently, interest rates can soar quickly if investors lose confidence in the ability of a government to manage its fiscal policy. Although historical experience and economic theory do not indicate the exact threshold at which the perceived risks associated with the U.S. public debt would increase markedly, we can be sure that, without corrective action, our fiscal trajectory will move the nation ever closer to that point.
To achieve economic and financial stability, U.S. fiscal policy must be placed on a sustainable path that ensures that debt relative to national income is at least stable or, preferably, declining over time. Attaining this goal should be a top priority.
Even as fiscal policymakers address the urgent issue of fiscal sustainability, they should take care not to unnecessarily impede the current economic recovery. Fortunately, the two goals of achieving long-term fiscal sustainability and avoiding additional fiscal headwinds for the current recovery are fully compatible--indeed, they are mutually reinforcing. On the one hand, a more robust recovery will lead to lower deficits and debt in coming years. On the other hand, a plan that clearly and credibly puts fiscal policy on a path to sustainability could help keep longer-term interest rates low and improve household and business confidence, thereby supporting improved economic performance today.
Fiscal policymakers can also promote stronger economic performance in the medium term through the careful design of tax policies and spending programs. To the fullest extent possible, our nation's tax and spending policies should increase incentives to work and save, encourage investments in the skills of our workforce, stimulate private capital formation, promote research and development, and provide necessary public infrastructure. Although we cannot expect our economy to grow its way out of our fiscal imbalances, a more productive economy will ease the tradeoffs that we face and increase the likelihood that we leave a healthy economy to our children and grandchildren.
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He just said it out loud. They will keep printing. Thank you mr B. thank you!
Missing from word cloud but pervasive throughout:
Dual Mandate and Blame Shift
Weak energy prices today sending XRT up to new record highs again.
The consumer cannot be stopped. Biggest spending binge in 5 years.
Hey, where's that guy Chris Martenson?
LOL......
Liar, retail spending is sucking, you know that, shameless paid shill.
Well chest wader sales are rising, as the shit is getting deep now!
pods
That is just hunting season dummy.
Gas rose again here last night. Perhaps you pay too much attention to the paper? Or rather, you watch too much TV. Clearly mothers around the world were right, it will rot your brains out.
We get gas once a month now, if that.
"the combination of high debt levels and weak growth prospects in a number of european countries has raised significant concerns about their fiscal situations, leading to substantial increases in sovereign borrowing costs, concerns about the health of european banks, and associated reductions in confidence and the availability of credit in the euro area."
high debt levels and weak growth prospects, eh? good thing we don't have to worry about that here in the good ol' u.s. of a!
long suspected SAT scores could be purchased just like adm to Ivy L so called elite schools..better to be rich than poor and rich and corrupt better yet.
If things weren't as screwed up as they are we wouldn't need weekly updates from this clown.
Soon we'll probably have daily updates.
Everyone knows things are bad but seem assured hearing a bunch of lies from the crooks.
LOL...
"Rest assured, the reason I'm talking to you so often is not because of failed policies, or that we are teetering on the precipice, but only my need to communicate effectively."
"Why do you need to communicate so effectively?"
"Uh, uh, uh.... uh uh... Rest assured, the reason I'm talking to you so often is not because of failed policies, or that we are teetering on the precipice, but only my need to communicate effectively."
I hope someone asks him what CDS´s we should be buying
KRE back up to the May highs.
"Like It Never Happened"
Gold $1,750.
"Like It Never Happened"
Kind of like sex between you and another living creature.
LMFAO
If I were a representative: "Mr. Bernanke, your organization has taken a dollar and turned it into a goddamn nickel. What redeeming feature can your organization put forth to balance out this horrendus result?"
The 'representatives' just love it as long as rates stay at 0% they can pump out mountains of debt while mom and pops huddle over a can of cat food over a candle.
Flop sweat all over the Bernank. The mob is coming Ben.......... Checkmate.
*BERNANKE SAYS TWO SIDES OF FED MANDATE ARE COMPLEMENTARY
So the higher the Russell 2000 goes the higher will Wall Street bonuses be.
Ben Bernanke admits to having greek parentage, just like Sarkozy does in reality.
"Ich bin ein Berliner" becomes in this day and age "ich bin ein Athenian".
Is this a new fleeting passion of uber-alles coming summer fashion for the happy few?
I'd love to see Ryan knock this motherfucker out
Answer the fucking question that is asked Bernanke !
Great timing on CNBS. Ben stops talking and Ryan starts and they break in with Sharon Epperson saying "Natural GAS just went down"- I took it after Ben stopped talking NG drops
... Inventories of NG dropped too, that has not been the case in long while.
"Chairman Bernanke:
Why should Congress and the financial institutions that fund their campaigns get their house in order? You give them unlimited funding, at no virtually no cost, and when the financial institutions behave in illegal ways, stomping on innocent victims property rights, no court holds them accountable.
You're tantamount to a parent that rewards their delinquent teenager with more free time and more money. Their is no punishment, nor incentive to behave prudently. Quite the opposite.
If you are serious about seeking fiscal responsibility, I suggest you grow a pair."
Is Bernanke more unctuous or more smarmy?
Yes.
1755 34 cracked a few times, massive volume, someones keeping this shit locked man
Goldilocks Bithchez, low inflation,strong dollar, worldwide flight to quality into Treasuries.
We're at resistence. Watch the AUD, metals should follow it.
Who's resisting who? JPM's paper (w)hordes, or the physicals?
Don't ask silly questions mmmkay?
Beating a dead horse.
My bad. Think I'll stand by the door for the delivery dood. Got a couple sleeves of Ag maples and a bag-o-junk-Ag coming today. It's nice when they arrive on a day where the premium has already been absorbed.
Sprott?
Nah... the March money is now underwater. I wonder if someone big is trying to literally buy time.
Paul Ryan and Ben Bernanke are the perfect actors for this farce. Total liars playing the CYA game. Do not be fooled by Paul Ryan. He is a scumbag.
Ryan: You shouldn't be printing money.
Bernanke: You shouldn't be running a deficit.
Both together: Tell me about it! *wink wink nudge nudge laughs and backslapping*
That's our government!
[freeze frame]
[roll credits]
"uh,, uh...but uh... umm , uh umm , ummm ,..the USD is the safe heaven..uh uh , and it's very attractive to investors"
uh uh god!
Investors.
Ben did force me to get out of my Bid and get into the Ask quickly when Kitco went vertical.
I took a dollar hit each coin but already gained it back.
silver and gold up
way to go Ben!
Instead of getting the guy who knows how to ask the real questions Ron Paul its RPs antithesis the stoodge clown Paul Ryan. From Politico:
Dick Cheney: 'I worship the ground Paul Ryan walks on' http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0511/55749.htmlben thinks about those savers getting zip, yah he thinks they are of no import to the economy..some people just need killin
even the bernank had trouble with this line
"and with problems in the world...uh...people are investing in us treasuries uh because they're...they're... attractive...um"
Video of The Bernanke at Davos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kj7HkS_BaI
Ryan, is putting Ben to fire. Making him stutter and twitch his right eye.
Ben is obviously lying and covering up. Body language. Ryan is spot on with inflation statements. We're f**ked
RELAX, there's no way to actually KNOW what is going to happen in the future. /sarc
Wait until you see the Quivering lips, white knuckles and the use of Accessory muscles to keep the face from growing pale.
American Airlines plans to cut 13,000 jobs, eliminate traditional pensions to cut costs
By David Koenig, AP Airlines Writer | Associated Press – 14 hours ago http://finance.yahoo.com/news/american-airlines-aims-cut-13-200857865.ht...To achieve economic and financial stability, U.S. fiscal policy must be placed on a sustainable path that ensures that debt relative to national income is at least stable or, preferably, declining over time. Attaining this goal should be a top priority.
...
The Committee now anticipates that economic conditions are likely to warrant exceptionally low levels of the federal funds rate at least through late 2014.
Translation: You heroin addicts need to get sober. And to help, I'm going to build each one of you you're own private methadone clinic, inclusive of a year's supply of smack as a contingency for those that have trouble with the initial withdrawal stages.
Not one year of smack, three years. After all, Rome was not destroyed in a day.
How can this guy be evil? He's such a weenie!
The evil behind the weenie is always lurking behind the curtain somewhere.
You couldn't fucking pay me enough. Wonder how he sleeps at night. Does he get Secret Service protection?
He can afford better protection from the guys who protect the Secret Service.
The fed can control inflation in the long run? Allow me to reword that statement with the truth......The fed can make sure that people pay more what they need to live, decrease their buying power and make sure that those closest to the money printers benefit the most.
Paddy cake, paddy cake, Bankers Man, ...... roll em up, role em up, throw him in the can.
A dime a dozen.
PMs taking off and blowing through resistance.
Thank you Uncle Ben.
That's a nice "W" in the gold chart (Yahoo Finance).
Let's call that one lightening out of a bottle.
"Excuse me Congressmen, but I must get back to my philosopher's stone. The world needs me."
-Ben Bernanke
Keep him talking!
there are c...cccc.....cccc...costs
He says the word trillion about every two minutes. Talk about fixing something into the status quo's lexicon.
Thank you Bernank. $34 was pissing me off.
At this rate we're going to get to $1800 today.
Euro is loving this bullshit-a-thon. 50 pips up in 20 mins. /ES likes it too. Who needs QE when spewage works just as well on the markets?
Well you can say what you want about Bernanke...He answers the questions presented to him atleast...Greenspan just talked in circles above them and they all clapped like a bunch of seals
The questions they are asking are lobbed like softballs.
You can easily tell who Hyman Roth owns by the softballs they lob.
Nobody testilies like uncle Ben. He could lie the white off of rice. Not unusual for the federal reserve to buy US bonds indeed!
Unbelievable swing in physical silver- 70 cents jump in under three minutes.
HEY BEN- "Charlie don't surf!!!"
Cue: The Doors 'The End'
I caught it just in time too. If I stayed at the damn coffee pot a little bit longer.... it would have cost me.
And as PM's take off vertical, Robo signs off for the day.
how about asking how many security people the fed has hired the last 4 yrs? why do you feel so threatened by the people of the USA?
"I'm from Princeton. Is that clear? Now listen carefully little puppets....This is what's going down....."
The Bernank must have tripped the gold trigger.
Ben just said "when the economy recovers"....I thought the economy was recovering?
When I see Ben speak I think of Cicero
In a speech to the Roman Senate, as recorded by Sallust, Cicero said:
"A nation can survive its fools and even the ambitious. But it cannot survive treason from within. An enemy at the gates is less formidable, for he is known and he carries his banners openly against the city. But the traitor moves among those within the gates freely, his sly whispers rustling through all alleys, heard in the very halls of government itself. For the traitor appears no traitor; he speaks in the accents familiar to his victim, and he wears their face and their garments and he appeals to the baseness that lies deep in the hearts of all men. He rots the soul of a nation; he works secretly and unknown in the night to undermine the pillars of a city; he infects the body politic so that it can no longer resist. A murderer is less to be feared. The traitor is the plague."
In all seriousness...Rates will be low, kept low, and continue to go lower...There's no other way for these guys...The US Treasury bill feedback loop will be interesting to watch...More Treasury purchases gains confidence in even lower rates...
In my view, they're already mispriced too low...As they go all the way...Who will continue to buy them accept the Fed itself...Trouble brewing down the line for sure...
That guy Blumenaur seems to be very fond of his own voice.
can anyone tell me why this dick emphasises housing as the reason for the current crisis....YOU CANT BUY A HOUSE WITHOUT A JOB---SAT SCORE 1590 MEANS DICK
You could back in 2004 if you had a pulse and maintained a body temperature.
Next hearing they should put Binny on a polygraph.
The damn Kitco Charts in Gold and Silver IS the goddamn Polyograph.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8q8efYK35A
cartman was right...
Exemplary circumlocution. Rarely have I witnessed so many saying so much that endeavoured so hard to tell us so little.
Suit-Betty Debbie 'Wuz up 'er man' Schultz is particulary entertaining with her 'Ben, would you care to blow a Dem a kiss?' questions.
We need to get Bernanke his own daytime talk show.
Sipping Coffee with Ben Bernanke
[Ben looks up from his coffee]
Uh, good afternoon everybody, and uh welcome to Sipping Coffee, with me, Ben Bernanke. Today we-we-we are going to dis-c-c-cuss monetary and, uh, fiscal policy. First a word from our, uhm, sponsers....
[A voice booms from the loudspeakers]
That was, um, lovely. I do love to worship the Great Dark Lord myself. T-t-today, monetary policy is giving us the, uh, t-tools to use inflation to k-keep asset prices high, to help the, uh, housing market for example. We have trillion of, uh, dollars on our balance sheet and we, uh, want more, because, well, we love money.
[Ron Paul, riding a white stead and wearing knights armour, rides in]
Not so fast! If you have trillions of dollars in liabilities. How are you balancing the risk?
Uhm, with tradition and a sprinkle of, uh, unicorn hooves.
[Bernanke smiles smugly and sips his coffee]
Who the fuck is this Kathy Castor telling me unemployment is low? What a whore!
Yeah, sounds like things are really lookin up in Florida! I'm gonna move there as soon as possible before all the jobs are gone! I bet they pay good, too! Lucky for me I was watching or I never woulda known! I bet Alabama's booming, too! Well, gotta go start packin! Later dudes! Happy days are here again!
1761,70 : keep talking
How fucking dumb is this lady talking right now?
Who puts these people in office?
Idiots, all of them!
So very thoughtful hahaha, improv on Capitol hill, So predictable.
this girl is a dope !
She should have just gone over and rubbed her tit on his bald head!
That comes after the testimony back at the Marriner Eccles building where Congress performs satanic rituals like throwing dollars in a furnace, slitting the throats of horned goats, and bathing in the spilled blood.
I hear it's more fun than Sabado Gigante!
Heresy! Nobody is more fun than Don Francisco and his bevy of busty beauties!
Castor...another dumbass from Florida. What are the requirements for being on this committee? Are they awarded as door prizes at the SOTUs? A pulse? Single functional brain cell on a respirator? GD woman, STFU...This state needs an ENEMA!
Well that makes it easy...Follow the bot up till 11/12 then.. reverse is a click i think. sorry to do this to ya kids, :(
Ryan had a pretty good 'war face' on today...
One of the big questions going forward is will the T-bill go the way of the MBS market in 08'...If you ask the Fed...Obviously that would surely never happen...Never...But the similarities remain...When the signs of economic stress showed up...There was always a big increase in Fan/Fred debt, Mortage debt which fed back into lower rates...which fed the Housing market...The same exists today except the Big Enchilada End Game is US sovereign debt represented by the Treasury Bill...
It has to continue to go lower...Everything hinges on this...At what point does the market scream Uncle?
We really need to pick our representatives from a hat.
If these people represent us, then we are dorks.
"um, yeah, hmm, so um, at this, you know, treasuries are good m'kay? the dollar is...um good, you know, um attractive, so um we can...reduce...or, or ah at least, you know stabilize the ah, deficits...yeah so well, cause that would be good for the people who...ahh what's the word? oh yeah right, save, but spending, now ahh...spending is good and inflation, well, it's..it's just, you know well, umm we need to boost the... Banks err, and in doing so, well the credit and...and good faith so you know, the deficits don't, don't ahh...get, get to far out of control and their will be some...well, their might just be more jobs...out there. to create in the ahh...in the future..cause we need, people have to do...stuff so debt, you know, debt, it's just...it's just we need to keep the ahh, the zero low, you know zirp and such for a while, and gold...gold, well China, and Russia and India...and well some other places too...right, but that's not going to umm...I mean, it's, it's barbaric, it's not, not dollars so...whatever, it's...they're not dumping...ahh excessively...they're not going to do anything cause the dollar is, is good and so you know maybe, maybe it's they want to make more gold jewelry or something but that's... you know that's about it
so, I think maybe...I mean things are a little slow, so possibly we ahh, should you know. maybe look at more, more tools to help, I mean the markets...yeah but elsewhere, well um maybe some more easing could...boost, you know, in this environment, where it, just look, the green shoots and such so, it, will be to better...to better effect, it will be different this time, so..so there you go."
Bennie - "I have a 'creditable plan. It's sustainable, cause it balances. It avoids chaos! While your's on the other hand has only quanity, not quality, and moves our nation towards 'massive fiscal contraction.' You need to implement tax code extensions and tax code improvements,
Pascrell just another scumbag from NJ
Damn it! Wadder boy! Here now!
I couldn't find words like "counterfeit" or "Ponzi" or "casino" or "theft" in that transcript...
Food prices have spiked and are still going up. Companies raise prices now through smaller packaging. Bernake's plan is to inflate out of debt.
Why would anyone in their right mind hold on to the US dollar when you have the Federal Reserve bank on a campaign to distroy it's value in a massive way? Citizens and countries need to move out of the US dollar. Responsible countries need to rush to another reserve currency.
Coffee was a nice 6.00 now it's a in your face 12 dollars.
I am fucking buying 24 of those fucking things before they become 24 dollar goddamn coffee.
About time someone called out Buffett, even in passing like Price just did.
About time someone called out Buffett, even in passing like Price just did.
Oh no, a supporter of investment in labor skills. Need to learn to speak english first. This guy has always made a living in the public sector.
Paul Tonk, central planner extraordinaire!
What a disgrace.
This panty waste shill's job is to protect the Fed's shareholders (the big banks) and fund them with direct monopoly money.
These assholes never had to meet payroll and have no idea what is going on in the streets of Amerika.
The Bernak doesn't ride the bus.
ok its now official , any female in DC , all their brains fell out thru their slits.....idiots each and every one of them !
I love it when Ben Berskanke speaks,gold always gets a hard on...
Go Mulvaney. This is interesting.
Ben is lying. It does not show on the balance sheet. Bloomberg FOIA proved that.
Very true. Finally good questions.
Yup! Mike Mulvaney OWNED that filthy lying son of a bitch !
Have you seen how he reacted on "operation twist"
It is printed, new money. Buy Gold!
Saving the banks. The cat is out of the bag. These bums are beging to ask good questions.
Wasserman Schulz is the worst
I heard she loves 'pinko' lingerie
Schulz=super cunt
what an embarrasment!
someone put a butt plug in her face, now!
Look,Bens lips are moving,
Thats how you know when he is lying
Anyone who uses the CBO as a reliable data source, is an ostrich.
Debbie Wasserman Schultz? Must be related to "I see nooothing Shultz". Oooops, on second thought she can't be realted or the Sarge is in REAL trouble!
yeah sure. No regulations, just austerity for the back stop masses. Privatize profit, socialize debt, and blame it on Congress. Have fun storming the castle folks:)
Wasserman-Schultz...the ultimate Queen of Obamanauts. Makes Castor look sane. This dingbat gets beat down regularly and never changes her tune. Good one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TNfQjkegak&feature=related (about 1:30)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eyQ4KMs3Ju4&feature=related
Bernanke basically just said, 'Money market mutual funds need to watch their back if....if there is another bank run like the one in '08.'
Ve have toolz.....ve are not vurried about inflation.
This commentary is pretty damning, let me give you the one sentence interpretation
These International Swaps, Leveraged Bets, CDO's, and all sorts of shenanigans can BLOWUP BIGTIME and there is no clearing house, no one holding house money to make the winning party whole.
http://oahutrading.blogspot.com/2012/02/international-swaps-can-blow-up-...
"We're charging you more for currency. Suck it."
"we tripled the money supply, once monetary velocity goes up don't we have inflation?"
Good question. A few of these congresscritters are getting smarter or are being well coached.
Ben's answer. No sweat, we have this one. BLATANT LIE
Good question from Ryan. He doesn't believe Ben's lie.
Then he lied about elderly folks who want low-risk investments, and he said, basically, "Let them suck wind."
He never mentions elderly people on fixed income. What an asshole.
elderly folks getting more out of medicare, social security then they put in. no need to give them any more.
plus they lived through greatest expansion of credit and economical booms in US. If they didn't save up at least $1M, it is their fault.
Most old folks from depression and WWII era are tough survivors. fixed income or not they got raw materials stored away in their garage of a home they paid off 30 years ago. Only problem would be greedy union doctors.
Congress Critter Black.
"Hey, I am a visual learner and I have this diagram here.
It seems like the money just goes around in circles. Is it a circle jerk or a ponzi scheme..
I am so confused. "
Lady, get out of the way and let some smart people ask the RIGHT questions.
Oh boy; money into 0 return, I like her. So we continue to afford an artificial life style. This is going to end badly. These bums are asking better questions. People are waking up.
Agree. Ben is fighting a rear guard action. A managed retreat if you will. His days are numbered.
We have lost hundreds who bought the Military the time they needed to displace and move to better ground over and over and over again.
Now we just add or recycle them.
We have alredy pass the tipping point. He will continue to print to maintain the status. Limited, no he can print.
Thanks for the word-cloud ZH. I don't need to listen to or read the Evil Chairsatan's statement. A quick glance at the word-cloud and I think... yeah, he's still Chairsatan, no changes there.
Fed always looks in the rearview mirror.
No magic insight here.
I like this questioner.
"Basically Ben, everything you project does not come true. You missed this call and that call, so the implication is................."
UNSPOKEN CONCLUSION, BEN YOU ARE NO DAMNED GOOD.
Ben response, "macro projections are very difficult," NO SHIT SHERLOCK. That is why we should let the free market set interest rates balancing supply of savings against demand for capital!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
-Ben Bernanke, direct quote
Ben must have finally quit talking, the damn metals are almost back to where they were two hours ago. ARGH!
FUCK. THIS. GUY.
The Fed needs to be abolished.