Bernanke Says Fed May Take More Action To Curb Joblessness

Bloomberg:

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said the economy is barely expanding at a sustainable pace and that it's possible the Fed may expand bond purchases beyond the $600 billion announced last month to spur growth.

Read the whole story: Bloomberg

Comments

[Drmhp]

10:50 AM on 12/07/2010

I have been to china many times and have witnessed the living standards in the countryside. Hang on America. We are headed for pain, suffering and misery on a scale few have witnessed in this country. Prosperity is over. Stop having children and save every last nickel you can.

[truthisneeded]

10:32 AM on 12/07/2010

Noobody seems to notice that inflation in China is exploding. As China inflation goes up so will our inflation as well as we import so much from China. This will squeeze our unemployed and middle class even more. Bernanke should know this and he knows and he is working hard to create and high inflation environment in the US, setting the stage for a disaster for the poor and the middle class.

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6B60XG20101207

So here is President Obama's double whammy to the economy:

a) take the government revenue that is desperately needed to reduce the deficit and invest in America's future and jobs and donate it as a gift to the ultra rich. The wealthiest 20% American own at least 85% of all of America's assets.

b) bring on high inflation so that purchasing power of the unemployed and the middle class is disintegrated; also with the help of China's consumers.

Arianna is right.

America is becoming a third world country because we are becoming poorer an
d poorer as the money is shifted from the American people to the hands of very few super rich Americans with the help of a corrupted government in the hands of corporations and Wall Street.

http://www.charlierose.com/view/interview/11321

(click on the picture for video)

[nomoredead]

08:09 AM on 12/07/2010

The Chamber of China and their Big Business Buddies have the american worker right where they want them...over the barrel and afraid.
Cutting pay, pensions and benefits.
Millions hungry and looking for work.

It happened to me on monday morning with the boss screaming how lucky we were to have a job and if we didn't produce he could hire more hungry people and we should be thankful we are working because so many companies are out of business.......a corporate dream come true.

[joe kim]

07:21 AM on 12/07/2010

How does giving banks trillions at near 0% create jobs? Fed balance sheet is expanding by leaps and bounds which means banks have more and more cash from the fed, but lending has gone down in the past quarter. Where is all this free money? Seems the banks aren't lending, they are using the money to front run the fed and buying bonds. How does this help main street?

It doesn't.

Bernanke isn't trying to help main street's economy he is trying to give more free money to his bank buddies.

[farmilyman]

04:54 AM on 12/07/2010

How does destroying the middle class to benefit the rich create jobs??

[truthisneeded]

04:24 AM on 12/07/2010

Stiglitz, Nobel Prize, agrees with me

that the monetary easing poses great risks for the people of America with very little upside benefits

http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232/?video=1684970043&play=1

[truthisneeded]

04:29 AM on 12/07/2010

and he also says and I agree that they (Fed and Obama) are creating another speculative bubble; Stiglitz knows it; I know it and I have a feeling that Bernanke knows it too and he is doing it on purpose.

Speculative bubble means that some people lose a lot of money and some (usually way fewer) people make a lot of money

[truthisneeded]

10:19 AM on 12/07/2010

http://www.nbc.com/news-sports/cnbc/stiglitz-on-the-economy/

[truthisneeded]

02:59 AM on 12/07/2010

mentioned this somewhere else...

Interview with Charles Ferguson

http://www.charlierose.com/view/interview/11321

about our government and Wall Street

[truthisneeded]

03:01 AM on 12/07/2010

Fantastic and highly recommended

[truthisneeded]

02:15 AM on 12/07/2010

Obama and the Fed are looking after themselves and the rich.

Mentioned this somewhere else on the Huffpo can add here too.

""Near-zer­o interest rates represent a dangerous long-term policy and the Fed should raise rates in order to help the economy", David Einhorn, president of Greenlight Capital told CNBC Monday.

Einhorn added that keeping rates low only helps banks and the federal government­.

Einhorn "singled out systemic weaknesses in monetary and fiscal policy as the most likely culprits of the next crisis.""

http://www.cnbc.com/id/40529765

[truthisneeded]

01:19 AM on 12/07/2010

Mark my words. Bernanke is trying hard to attack the middle class and poorer by injecting inflation in the system.

Already oil prices and food prices are going up, the dollar is weakening and will continue to do so and commodity prices will continue to go up.

So personal income goes down and personal expenses go up.

Bernanke is tinkering with a pressure cooker; he keeps increasing the pressure until the pressure cooker will explode and there will not be a way back for a while.

[truthisneeded]

01:02 AM on 12/07/2010

Translation

the fed will buy more bonds and drive yields lower and the dollar lower to help shareholders of corporations while disregarding the impact on the average American and the security of our country

[ArabianMoney]

12:59 AM on 12/07/2010

Mr Bernanke may also be preparing to deal with the coming eurozone crisis which threatens massive contagion to the US banking system. This is the next 600lb gorilla to enter the living room. Unemployment is a consequence of Fed policy and employment cannot be magically produced by monetary policy or we would always have full employment, see: http://www.arabianmoney.net/gold-silver/2010/12/07/eurozone-on-the-brink-of-a-lehman-style-meltdown/

[TheRightIsCorrect]

12:33 AM on 12/07/2010

"Nothing is so permanent as a temporary government program."
— Milton Friedman

[Auto556813]

01:29 AM on 12/07/2010

He also supported quantitative easing.

"It’s very simple. They can buy long-term government securities, and they can keep buying them and providing high-powered money until the high powered money starts getting the economy in an expansion." - Milton Friedman

[NYC80]

12:09 AM on 12/07/2010

Oh yes the real US president of America brough to you by the six mega banks. This guy has more power than obama.

[p456]

11:25 PM on 12/06/2010

The Fed has been stealing our money since it was founded. 60 minutes is not enough time to explain how it will ever be fixed. I hope someday that we wake up in America and do what is right for the majority of the people.

[TheRightIsCorrect]

12:37 AM on 12/07/2010

Inflation is one form of taxation that can be imposed without legislation.

[nogimmicks]

11:12 PM on 12/06/2010

The Fed bankers steal a lot and from many: 700B in 2008-9 bailout and $700 billion in the 2010 fed-QE2 purchase of securities from GS. Each transaction amounts to $2,295 estimated cost per American, or $4,635 per working American.