Ben Bernanke
Ben Bernanke
Ben Shalom Bernankeis an American economist at the Brookings Institution who served two terms as chairman of the Federal Reserve, the central bank of the United States, from 2006 to 2014. During his tenure as chairman, Bernanke oversaw the Federal Reserve's response to the late-2000s financial crisis. Before becoming Federal Reserve chairman, Bernanke was a tenured professor at Princeton University and chaired the department of economics there from 1996 to September 2002, when he went on public service leave...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionPolitician
Date of Birth13 December 1953
CityAugusta, GA
CountryUnited States of America
Monetary policy has less room to maneuver when interest rates are close to zero, while expansionary fiscal policy is likely both more effective and less costly in terms of increased debt burden when interest rates are pinned at low levels.
I am going to begin now a practice of not making recommendations on specific tax and spending proposals.
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.
But again, I remain optimistic that the impact on energy from these two events will be limited.
Low marginal tax rates are supportive of economic growth. I would submit that we would want to look very hard at government spending - make sure it's controlled - before we raise taxes, which, in turn, would have negative impacts on the economy.
Many savers are also homeowners; indeed, a family's home may be its most important financial asset. Many savers are working, or would like to be.
Sector-specific price declines, uncomfortable as they may be for producers in that sector, are generally not a problem for the economy as a whole and do not constitute deflation.
So far, the effects appear to be relatively modest on growth.
So far, the actual actions taken have been relatively modest, but there is some hope, I think, that, going forward, these actions will advance further and we will see more progress in the current account.
Since World War II, inflation - the apparently inexorable rise in the prices of goods and services - has been the bane of central bankers.
I have spoken about deficits, and I think deficits are important because they address broad economic and financial stability. We need to talk about that.
No one will lend at a negative interest rate; potential creditors will simply choose to hold cash, which pays zero nominal interest.
Now that I'm a civilian again, I can once more comment on economic and financial issues without my words being put under the microscope by Fed watchers.
Neighborhoods and communities are complex organisms that will be resilient only if they are healthy along a number of interrelated dimensions, much as a human body cannot be healthy without adequate air, water, rest, and food.