Could Bernanke lose his job?
It would appear to be a lock that Ben Bernanke will be reappointed chairman of the Federal Reserve. But questions have started to emerge about whether the Administration is committed to that course -- which raises the prospect of the unthinkable. Bernanke is considered one of the heroes of the battle to get the U.S. out of a terrible credit crisis.
According to The Wall Street Journal, some members of Congress are uneasy about Bernanke's ability to handle an expanded role of the Fed. The paper reports, "If these new powers are going to be granted to the Fed, then maybe a professor of economics will never again be the best choice for the Fed chairman," said Darrell Issa (Republican, California).
Of course, the reappointment of any high federal official runs into political in-fighting. The Administration has a remarkably ambitious set of goals for overhauling the financial industry. It may have to do horse trading to get some members of Congress to go along with programs that are not popular, like buying toxic assets from banks using government money.
Bernanke could be sacrificed as part of a wider agenda.
Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 24/7 Wall St.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
7-09-2009 @ 9:21AM
Cathy said...
He should lose his job...he should go to jail.
join (endthefed.us) and join (FairTax.org) to take power away from congress and give it back to the taxpayers!
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7-09-2009 @ 9:52AM
judy said...
if bernake loses his job, this country will be in a more despressed state than it currently is at right now. at least he has some sense and he is doing a great job---additionally, when he speaks the economy listens and doesn't hear the "junk" coming from other economists
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7-09-2009 @ 9:43AM
viking75 said...
Bernanke never saw the recession coming, so why do people see him as some kind of genius who will get us out of it?
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7-09-2009 @ 10:03AM
Cheryl said...
This guy should have been fired when the Bush administration finally ended. I have absolutely no clue why Obama kept him, when he was part of the problem with our near economic collapse. He was clueless most of the time as to the severity of the problem.
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7-09-2009 @ 10:05AM
checkers said...
It really does not matter at this late date, congress can go argue with itself, but the fact remains that the FED is broke and will not be able to pay the bills and interest on what has been borrowed. China and Japan are not foolish enough to buy more federal notes as our ability to pay the interest is seriously in question. THE WORST IS YET TO COME.
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7-09-2009 @ 10:16AM
Tom said...
Don't be stupid-stupid-stupid! Ben Bernanke took action while others stood by. Thank God we have a few qualified men & women left like him. YES he should be re- appointed. BA Economics, MBA Wharton
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7-09-2009 @ 11:43AM
jerry said...
I second your view.
If Jack Welch thinks he's a hero then that's good enogh for me. The negative/doomsayers don't understand the problem or the solution and neither does Congress--one could make a strong case for blaming it on them (both the democrats & republicans. We are indeed fotunate to have Bernanke.
7-10-2009 @ 1:12AM
mex said...
before we start pointing fingers at bernanke look at you'rself in the mirror. there is not one of us that has not made a mistake in his life maybe not as big as this but we have all made mistakes I would rather have a man that hopefuly learned from it and does better 2nd time around than to have someone else come along and do the same mistake twice because of ignorance.people please note that we do not have the time to waste starting all over, time is what we are fighting in this slow economy. maybe we should quit bickering and say a small prayer for our country.
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7-09-2009 @ 11:04AM
D Werp said...
History will treat Bernanke very kindly. If people only knew how close we came to financial meltdown!
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7-09-2009 @ 11:16AM
Jim Swindle said...
He should leave to be the head of a chairty. That is what he is best at giving giving away other peoples money.
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7-09-2009 @ 11:27AM
vlhoxie said...
Greenspan led us into this mess. Bernanke has taken all the action that he can.to get us out of trouble. He is smart and decisive. History will reflect well on him. He is doing all he can.
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7-09-2009 @ 12:00PM
hemipwr54 said...
Let him go , he is a moron , 'unemployment will not reach 8.9 percent' , he said when it was 9.2 already , slightly out of touch with what is really going on .
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7-09-2009 @ 12:52PM
Elaine said...
Mr. Greenspan is the person who let our economy decay for the last 15 years. He's the one who would raise interest rates, not wait for it to take effect, then raise them again. His actions are what has put us here now. Bernanke has been spending his time cleaning up the old mess!
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7-09-2009 @ 1:04PM
Andy said...
Does it really matter? The fed central bank will just put in a new puppet. Before some corrects and says its the president who appoints him, believe me its the bank that controls the gov.
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7-09-2009 @ 1:07PM
tom k said...
he's part of the conspiracy in the dem.finane greed meltdown. he made his way out of the last senate hearing bs concerning his roll in the b of a purchase of merrill lynch. appointed and newly appointed dem's in the finance sector are all in bed together not to forget good ole barney frank,cris dodd. open your eye's people,start listening to the right just alittle bit and maybe you'll see the path we're heading . for all the people who voted for this left agenda will pay dearly in the wallet where it'll hurt the most - get your head out of your ass so you can see day light again.
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7-09-2009 @ 1:32PM
James said...
Fire the bum he's doing a terrible job.
He's to blame for getting the economy in this mess.
I say some jail time would be justice,enough said.
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7-09-2009 @ 2:10PM
georgestooper said...
Why isn't Congress permitted to audit the Federal Reserve?
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7-09-2009 @ 2:21PM
Bob said...
As a Taxpayer, I am concerned with the ability of Congress to resolve any problems, excepting those solely in the best interests of Congress than Bernanke.
Our Senators and Representatives know full well there are too few of us to rid the halls of Congress of their self serving political Arse ans who only act as Public Servants while on the campaign trail.
However, I would like Ben Bernanke to either consider thinking before opening his mouth or shoving a sock in it.
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7-09-2009 @ 3:01PM
Jayhawk said...
Bernanke is as qualified for the job and means as well as anyone. I like kthat he is an academic at Princeton rather than a greedy Rasputin from goldman Sachs or Morgan stanley.
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7-09-2009 @ 4:51PM
scott said...
He should lose his job! He created this mess by not recognizing the severity of the problem for 18 months...he is useless and should be fired.
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