Moneybox: Timid Ben

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Moneybox Timid Ben The Atlantic's exceedingly unpersuasive defense of Fed Chairman Bernanke. By Matthew Yglesias Posted Thursday, Mar 15, 2012, at 08:22 PM ET The job of the Federal Reserve system, roughly speaking, is to prevent the economy from spiraling into spasms of uncontrolled inflation or prolonged periods of mass unemployment. Given that the United States is currently in the midst of a prolonged period of mass unemployment, it's safe to say that the Fed has failed. Under the circumstances, it's not difficult to see why its chairman, Ben Bernanke, has come in for large quantities of criticism from both sides—and rightly so. A detailed new apologia from Roger Lowenstein in the Atlantic, based on extensive access to Bernanke, attempts to mount a defense of his tenure, but only confirms his liberal critics' worst fears. Bernanke knows what he needs to do to put people back to work, but refuses to try. To understand what's been so horrifying about Bernanke's turn at the helm, it's useful to review why people like Paul Krugman, who are now his leading critics, were enthusiastic at the time about his reappointment. Krugman and other liberals were taken with Bernanke's work on the Great Depression in the United States and on Japan's long recession in the 1990s, work that led overwhelmingly to the conclusion that a determined monetary policymaker has the tools necessary to end mass unemployment. Bernanke's 1999 essay "Japanese Monetary Policy: A Case of Self-Induced Paralysis" concluded with a bold call for Japan to demonstrate what Bernanke called "Rooseveltian resolve." He wrote that FDR's "specific policy actions ... To continue reading, click here. Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum What did you think of this article? POST A MESSAGE | READ MESSAGES Also In Slate Were Leprechauns Originally Supposed To Be Cute or Creepy? What, Exactly, Is a "Manic Pixie Dream Girl"? The Strip Club That Takes Credit Cards: It's a Bad Deal for You—and the Strippers	Advertisement
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