Image by William Banzai
The Federal Reserve Is the Real Winner
US News and World Report notes that Bernanke helped Obama to get re-elected by juicing the economy … at least temporarily:
The Federal Reserve had a key role in the presidential election—possibly even a decisive one.
Exit poll results show that, not surprisingly, a majority of voters said the struggling economy was their top concern …. In the end, voters seemed to believe the economy was gradually getting better, and Obama deserved more time to make things right.
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Without question, the biggest factor impacting the economy this fall was the Federal Reserve’s decision in September to extend its controversial quantitative easing program indefinitely, until the economy is back on track for good. This type of monetary easing is an arcane strategy that doesn’t directly impact consumers. But it can have a powerful effect on the economy that filters through to ordinary people in many important ways. And the biggest advocate of quantitative easing has been Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke.
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Consumer confidence, in fact, rose sharply in the weeks leading up to the election, even as business leaders were becoming more worried about problems such as the looming fiscal cliff. That’s one thing that pushed our Obamanometer reading onto Obama’s side. The Fed probably had as much to do with that as anything else.
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Bernanke has also shown himself to be a pragmatist determined to do whatever is necessary to help the economy recover today, even if it risks unpleasant consequences—such as higher inflation—in the future. Voters seem to approve. So maybe the politicians ought to listen.
While Romney is as mainstream economically as Obama, he did make noises about auditing the Fed, criticized additional Fed easing, called Fed stimulus “artificial”, “ineffective” and “just making it up”, promised to appoint some monetary hawks, and said that he would challenge Bernanke’s re-appointment.
Some of it was undoubtedly attempting to appease Ron Paul supporters (and other libertarians), who hate the Fed. But at least some of it appears to have been genuine.
As such, the big winner from the election is the Federal Reserve.
Postscript: Numerous economists say that we must end or substantially rein in the Fed. Both liberal and conservative protesters – Occupy and Tea Party alike – have railed against the unchecked power of the Federal Reserve.
Support among the public and House for auditing the Fed is almost 100% … but Democratic Senate leader Reid has vowed to kill an audit (even though he previously supported it). Given that Obama has been re-elected, and the Dems have kept the Senate, it appears that the Fed will retain its powers without any real checks or balances.
The Real Winner of the Presidential Election was originally published on Washington’s Blog
On the other side of the fence TTT, Obama never stopped the mortgage crisis but he did play it out with Wall Street. Oh yeah and his modification programs?? HAMP turned out what, about 10% overall and the newest and latest one, HARP, came on the scene like a trumpet of angels to the rescue and that is fizzling out as well. Bulldozing blighted properties is not such a bad idea and it’s already being done under Obama anyways. You think Obama was “for” banking regulations? Oh yeah, the Dodd-Frank Act that he took credit for has only placed more burden on the consumer while allowing the bankers to slip under the radar of the act.
I always considered you a pretty smart cookie TTT, but me thinks now that you’ve been tipping that Koolaid that’s laced with stupid. Come around March or April I can’t wait to see what your vision is then!
sure , he only needs more time to finish the job they commended..blocking the internet and spying …also remove more elemental rights from us..get richer and next term hand the chair to his wife….nice job….@#!$@##@#@
Love that 70s (60s?) era photo from the background. The (former) middle class had it so good back then, houses were actually affordable. Those days are gone.
Same agenda, they just go about it a little differently, yep they now think we are All owned lock stock and barrel so…unless you continue to voice and move on your disgust with these staged charades, this entertainment of look over here while we screw you over there mentality…$O$, it is all fixed regardless so ya need to figure out how to get what ya need to get done… under this dictatorship, people are becoming more learned in this day and time so now we will have to ramp it up a bit. Stay well all!! It is your call if ya can ever figure that one out. Keep digging!!! You will expose them all in time, all in good time.
One can justify the vote in many ways but the bottom line is that Mitt Romney’s comments doomed his own chances. 47% would never vote for him but it turned out to be more. He would let the mortgage crisis play out and not help modify loans. Bulldoze derelict properties and let the industry sort itself out. He was against banking regulations. He would have let the car industry die. He never stated what he would do except he would NOT raise taxes on the wealthy. He was more interested with power than change but he changed his position so many times it was impossible to determine what he believed or the direction he would go. He even made comments in the motorcade to the GOP convention that the pomp was what it was like to be President.
No, Mr. Romney, riding with all the glory and grandiose adulation in motorcades to cheering crowds with your corporate buddies paying the bills, intent on establishing a Plutocracy or diminishing WE THE PEOPLE government is NOT what its like to be President!