If Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke Were Doing A Good Job …
Read more articles on Finance and Life and Politics.January 9, 2008
Posted by neillevine
January 9, 2008
Posted by neillevine
273 Views
If Ben Bernanke were doing a good job running the Federal Reserve and keeping the national economy rolling steadily along, there would be no need for economic stimulus provided by the Administration and Congress.
Clearly, elected officials think there is a problem. Just why is President Bush talking about tax relief? Well, there is a short term bump in the economic road and the Fed does not meet for three weeks. Certainly it is possible for Mr. Bernanke to pump liquidity into the economic system at the next scheduled Federal Reserve meeting, providing a certain amount of relief. On the other hand, it is unlikely for Congress to pass anything meaningful in such a short time frame.
Does this raise questions?
Remember I have pointed out previously that interest rates have hurt automobiles and housing, two sectors that are big consumers of energy. With the price of a barrel of crude oil well over ninety dollars, actually much closer to one hundred dollars, this would make sense if not for the fact there are better alternatives that do less damage and keep the economy running at a better level of performance, so to speak. I also should point out that high energy price take some of the sting out of financial problems caused by the decline in the dollar that eventually will help correct the balance of payments deficit.
This is a big reason why choosing a positive candidate in the Presidential primaries is so important. Barack Obama, for one thing, is not only talking about change, but also about energy independence, whatever he means by that. Other candidates are saying things about energy, but when working on a real world project to do things in the proper order and not skip steps, unlike the fanciful world politicians live in where your every wish is their command, coherence helps.
I have found the first caucus and primary results to be interesting and have been paying attention, as best I can to the candidate debates and other campaign activity. I am seriously wondering what Mike Huckabee has on Mitt Romney, if anything, or is it part of his belief system that everyone is a sinner. If it is a theological attack, why hasn’t he said anything about Hillary, whose background is well known? Also, why has she lost her alleged controversial aura just in time for the upcoming primaries, especially since such a negative image would help Barack Obama. In my opinion, this is suspicious.
One positive thing I am will to say about Hillary Clinton is that at least she is positive on sex, if favoring pornography can be described that way. I remember the days when the Kennedys were hanging out with Marilyn Monroe and Judith Exner and others and prosecuting Ralph Ginsberg for publishing pornography so that is a change.
Based on the prospect of a Hillary win in Nevada I was going to point out that this is a state whose economy is based on booze, sex and gambling, not necessarily in that order, but now there are rumors that Barack Obama may win there so what can I say? Change the law?
Perhaps this explains the free pass Bill Clinton is receiving, but it appears he is residing in the wrong jurisdiction, to say the least.
Anyway, if more people insisted on better policies the world would be a better place.
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