It’s bad, man. The May unemployment report released Friday morning didn’t just announce one month of lethargic job growth — …
federal reserve
Ben Bernanke Warns Congress in Its Own Language
There’s “a massive fiscal cliff” in our future, Ben Bernanke told the House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday. To anyone accustomed to breathless congressional debate, this metaphorical escarpment must sound familiar. …
The Federal Reserve’s Rule-Making Secrecy
The Wall Street Journal has a thoroughly reported story today on the rise in regulatory secrecy at the Federal Reserve. On 45 of 47 of the draft or final regulatory measures voted on by members since the passage of the Dodd-Frank financial reform bill in July 2010, the Fed’s five voting members have e-mailed their votes in, rather than …
Ben Bernanke Embraces Obama’s Reality-Based Presidency
Texas governor and GOP presidential candidate Rick Perry still knows about as much about monetary policy as Sarah Palin knows about American history—or, for that matter, about monetary policy—but maybe there was a glimmer of …
Rick Perry vs. Ben Bernanke
The first question posed by Rick Perry’s much-ballyhooed entry into the GOP presidential race was whether he would run to the center, targeting Mitt Romney and positioning himself for the general election, or whether he would stay in his Tea Party comfort-zone on the right wing. It’s an indicator of the success of Michele Bachmann’s …
The Fed’s Impotence Would Be Funny If It Weren’t So Tragic
Persistent unemployment is tragic, not funny.
The Federal Reserve is boring, not funny.
The Fed’s impotence in the face of persistent unemployment is scary, not funny.
But the newsy statement from the Fed’s meeting …
What Washington Can — and Won’t — Do About Market Fears
The 6% stock-market sell-off on Monday elicited hopes from Wall Street that Washington would do something to reassure the world that it is serious about its mounting debt and determined to reinvigorate the stalled recovery. …
The GOP vs. the Fed
Which arm of government is most deplored by today’s Republican Party? It might be the allegedly jobs-killing Environmental Protection Agency. Or perhaps it’s the Health and Human Services Department, now tyrannically implementing …
Republicans Don’t Care If Default Boosts Deficits, Because They Don’t Care About Deficits
The Republican Party, after converting huge surpluses into huge deficits during the Bush era, after opposing deficit-reducing health reforms, student loan reforms and big-bank taxes during the Obama era, after continuing to clamor for trillions of dollars in deficit-expanding tax cuts while gutting House pay-as-you-go rules to make it …
Chairman End the Fed
It’s official: Ron Paul, libertarian standard bearer, will chair the House Financial Services subcommittee on monetary policy that oversees the Federal Reserve. It’s a big step for the Texas congressman who’s spent much of his career leveling harsh criticism at the central banking system and, in its own way, a sign of the times. …
Ben Bernanke: TIME Person of the Year
Here is Michael Grunwald’s excellent profile, and Rick Stengel’s explanation of how the Fed Chairman was chosen Person of the Year.
So tell us, Swampland commenters: Did TIME make the right pick?
