Keith, I tend to go along with Arthur on this one.
Because politicians can't help being what they are, more of this kind of thing
needs to be said by authoritative people who are not politicians. If Obama were
to say what Bernanke, he would be accused of making an ideologically based
political statement. The Republicans would find ways to tear it to shreds. If
Bernanke is saying it, however, it is coming from a highly respected economist
(no matter what you think of him) with no political axe to grind (supposedly).
It's a straight-out warning, and it's certain that he would have discussed the
statement with Obama before he made it.
Ed
----- Original Message -----
From: Keith Hudson
To: RE-DESIGNING WORK, INCOME DISTRIBUTION,EDUCATION
Sent: Thursday, September 29, 2011 11:00 AM
Subject: Re: [Futurework] Bernanke speaking because Obama can't?
Ed,
Having failed to produce more employment by his Keynesian money-printing
methods, Bernanke is now trying to throw the blame onto Congress! The irony is
that, in fact, members of Congress have already brought about a great deal of
extra employment over the years when getting funds for pork barrel projects in
their own constituencies. These have usually been successfully achieved by
tucking them inconspicuously into larger pieces of legislation. These projects,
too, have been adding to government deficits every year, just as Bernanke has.
It's also nonsense for Bernanke to suggest that lessons could be learned from
the emerging nations, and particularly China. True, their governmental budgets
are often far more disciplined than ours but that's mainly due to centuries'
old cultures which means that their people, to a very considerable extent, will
do as they're told. China, for example, doesn't have anything like a welfare
state or social security (worth speaking of) either. This means that ordinary
people save as much as 30% or 40% of their earning against their old age or for
health reasons. If Americans were to go anywhere near that level of savings
then it would kill even the present depressed economy stone dead.
Bernanke is becoming panicky -- as well he might. Also, I suspect, he's
trying to distance himself from Obama who, probably, won't get re-elected in
2012.
Keith
At 14:30 29/09/2011, you wrote:
From today's Globe and Mail.
Ed
Long-term unemployment in U.S. a 'national crisis,' Bernanke says
MARTIN CRUTSINGER
WASHINGTON- The Associated Press
Last updated Wednesday, Sep. 28, 2011 9:37PM EDT
In unusually strong language directed at U.S. politicians, Federal Reserve
Chairman Ben Bernanke has called long-term unemployment a "national crisis" and
suggested Congress needs to act on jobs and the housing industry.
Mr. Bernanke noted that about 45 per cent of the unemployed have been out
of work for at least six months.
"This has never happened in the post-war period in the United States. They
are losing the skills they had, they are losing their connections, their
attachment to the labour force."
He added: "The unemployment situation we have, the job situation, is really
a national crisis."
Mr. Bernanke said the government needs to provide support to help the
long-term unemployed retrain for jobs and find work. And he suggested that
Congress should take more responsibility.
Responding to a question, Mr. Bernanke said long-term unemployment,
budgetary discipline and housing policy were the three most important areas
where Congress could contribute to an economic recovery.
"There are certainly some areas where other policy makers could
contribute," he said.
Mr. Bernanke's comments were his latest in a public effort to get Congress
to act further to rejuvenate the economy. He suggested that the Fed can achieve
only so much through policies that seek to lower long-term interest rates.
"The Federal Reserve has made enormous efforts to try to help this economy
recover and stabilize" through its control of interest rates, or monetary
policy, he said. Those policies have driven rates to record lows.
"Monetary policy can do a lot, but monetary policy is not a panacea," Mr.
Bernanke said.
On the housing crisis, he said strong government programs to help the
industry recover would aid the Fed's own efforts to boost housing by driving
mortgage rates to their lowest levels in decades.
In his speech, the central banker said the United States and other rich
nations could relearn a few lessons from fast-growing developing nations.
He said the successful emerging economies such as China had adopted
disciplined budget policies, embraced free trade, made public investments and
supported education.
"Advanced economies like the United States would do well to relearn some of
the lessons from the experiences of the emerging market economies, such as the
importance of disciplined fiscal policies," Mr. Bernanke said.
But in the question-and-answer period, Mr. Bernanke cautioned U.S.
lawmakers against cutting deficits too quickly to reduce budget deficits. He
has said that could put the fragile economy at risk.
He noted in his speech that emerging markets such as China account for a
large and growing share of the global economy, so they need to act accordingly.
"With increasing size and influence comes greater responsibility," he said.
Emerging nations will be challenged in the future by their reliance on
exports to drive growth, he added.
The Obama administration has been pushing the Group of 20 major economies,
which includes traditional powers such as the United States and emerging
economies such as China, Brazil and India, to boost domestic demand rather than
relying so heavily on exports to rich nations.
Keith Hudson, Saltford, England http://allisstatus.wordpress.com/2011/09/
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