2.22.2006

What Do We Want In a Fed Chief?

People are never happy. Alan Greenspan foretells the stock market bubble, only to be openly ridiculed by oafs not qualified to carry his lunch. Econo-Girl remembers the 'irrational exuberance' speech. She also remembers the old guys on the 'news' channels talking about Greenspan as if he were some doddering old man who has lost touch with reality. In retrospect, many of Greenspan's critics were making money off of their wild-eyed stock predictions.

As an aside, it doesn't matter if the stock market is above 10,000. It's only a number.

So now the new guy to replace Alan Greenspan, Bernake, was roasted on Capital Hill because he refused to offer economic advice other than to reduce the Federal deficit. No one is ever happy. But is that what the Fed Chairman should do? He said that the size of government is none of his business. But isn't it? Doesn't that affect his choices on the money supply? And if it does, shouldn't we know that?

If this guy doesn't know the answers, who the hell does?

Econo-Girl predicts that, in the end, Bernake will choose to offer some advice. He is just drawing a clear line between himself and his predecessor. And now that he has drawn the cloak of mystery around himself, Bernake will be watched even more closely.

1 comment:

The Lazy Iguana said...

You can take a monkey, dress it up in an expensive suit - and you have a monkey in an expensive suit. Throwing monkey doo-doo at you. Or in some cases, pretending to be the President of the United States.

In all reality, the size of government is none of the federal reserve chairman's business. The FED chief does not make law, nor is he a member of congress. And reducing the budget deficit seems like sound advice to me!

Members of congress would not know good finance advice if it walked up and kicked them in the nards.

I already like this new guy. I just hope he has the stones to lay it out as it really is. In plain english so that everyone can understand. It would also help if he said to some members of congress "NO YOU IDIOT! You simply do not understand basic economics! You can not spend more than you make without the repo man having to come take your stuff away!". That would be sweet.