Ben Bernanke Quotes
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Monetary policy is not a panacea.
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The Federal Reserve has always recognized the importance of allowing markets to work, and government oversight of financial firms will never be fully effective without the aid of strong market discipline.
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In the future, my communications with the public and with the markets will be entirely through regular and formal channels.
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It is not the responsibility of the Federal Bank - nor would it be appropriate - to protect lenders and investors from the consequences of their decisions.
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Like gold, U.S. dollars have value only to the extent that they are strictly limited in supply. But the U.S. government has a technology, called a printing press (or, today, its electronic equivalent), that allows it to produce as many U.S. dollars as it wishes at essentially no cost. By increasing the number of U.S. dollars in circulation, or even by credibly threatening to do so, the U.S. government can also reduce the value of a dollar in terms of goods and services, which is equivalent to raising the prices in dollars of those goods and services.
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My first priority will be to maintain continuing with the policy and policy strategies under the Greenspan era.
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Middle-income living standards, and poverty for that matter, are best addressed through employment growth. By maintaining low inflation and low expectations of inflation, you can create new employment.
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Different countries have different kinds of financial structures.
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The children of the unemployed achieve less in school and appear to have reduced long-term earnings prospects.
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After a long period in which the desired direction for inflation was always downward, the industrialized world's central banks must today try to avoid major changes in the inflation rate in either direction.
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I think there's a good chance we'll dodge the bullet this time.
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I believe that the Federal Reserve's success in reducing and stabilizing inflation and inflation expectations is a major reason for this improved economic performance.
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A money-financed tax cut is essentially equivalent to Milton Friedman's famous 'helicopter drop' of money.
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At the most basic level, a central bank must be clear and open about its actions and operations, particularly when they involve the deployment of public funds.
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Our mission as set forth by the Congress is a critical one.
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Developments in financial markets can have broad economic effects felt by many outside the markets.
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If bankers become overly conservative in response to past lending mistakes - or if examiners force such behavior - it will hurt bankers' own long-term interests and the economy in general.
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I personally would have preferred if the Fed had been a little less aggressive.
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Although I expect policy to follow the usual gradualist pattern, the pace of tightening will of necessity respond to evolving economic conditions, particularly the strength of the ongoing recovery in the labor market and developments on the inflation front.
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I assure this committee that, if I am confirmed, I will be strictly independent of all political influences... essential to that institution's ability to function effectively and achieve its mandated objectives.
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There will not be an automatic increase in interest rate when unemployment hits 6.5%.
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Monetary policy is a blunt tool which certainly affects the distribution of income and wealth, although whether the net effect is to increase or reduce inequality is not clear.
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Deflation is defined as a general decline in prices, with emphasis on the word 'general.'
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Obviously, I haven't succeeded in defusing the political concerns about the Fed.