For a while today, the stock market was up in part based on some reassuring words from “helicopter” Ben Bernanke, Chairman of the Federal Reserve.
The man known as “The Bearded One” stated that his institution, the Federal Reserve, would do “whatever is necessary” to keep this recovery rolling along.
Now, those of you without a job or working way below your normal pay grade may dispute that we are even in a recovery, but the economists say we are.
And the economists know what they are talking about, right? They routinely score 4% higher in accuracy than the weatherman does.
Why the Chairman of an institution that should have no credibility whatsoever in the first place even gets a microphone to talk into is confusing.
The ONE mandate of the Federal Reserve upon its creation was to protect the value of the currency of the United States Of America, the U.S. Dollar; aka almighty buck.
How have they done?
Hmm, not so good.
Perhaps “helicopter” Ben is respected for his short term clarity & grasp of the coming financial collapse, the worst since the Great Depression (and it ain’t over yet).
Here are some of Mr. Bernanke’s wise statements with dates:
“At this juncture . . . the impact on the broader economy and financial markets of the problems in the subprime markets seems likely to be contained,” Ben Bernanke, March 28, 2007
“It is not the responsibility of the Federal Reserve – nor would it be appropriate – to protect lenders and investors from the consequences of their financial decisions. “ Ben Bernanke, October 15th, 2007
“[The U.S. economy] has a strong labor force, excellent productivity and technology, and a deep and liquid financial market that is in the process of repairing itself.” Ben Bernanke, January 18, 2008
On Freddie and Fannie, two months before they were taken over: “They will make it through the storm,” “… in no danger of failing,” “…adequately capitalized.“ Ben Bernanke, July 16th, 2008
Ok, so is this guy really that stupid? Here are the two options:
a) He really did not see any of the problems coming, even though dozens of great economists did and were not only vocal about it but even wrote open letters to him. So, why would you listen to him now?
b) He is incredibly intelligent and knew exactly what would happen, but not only was he powerless to prevent the chaos (it would have been worse if he weren’t so smart) but he couldn’t speak the truth publicly because of how the markets would react. In which case, if he didn’t tell the truth then, why would you listen to him now?
Well, obviously his impact on the markets today was muted, they ended the day down…
If you want to protect yourself financially then maybe you should be listening to the people who DID predict the events we have seen and are making forecasts now about what to expect on the horizon..
AND…
More importantly, what to do about it to position yourself properly.
Try a Risk Free Trial of The Casey Report. They are currently telling subscribers how to NOT get clobbered by the back side of this financial storm and profit instead.
