Agustino Fontevecchia
Forbes
7/13/2011
Chairman Ben Bernanke faced-off with Fed-hating Representative Ron Paul during his monetary policy report to Congress on Wednesday. The head of the Fed was forced to respond to accusations of enriching already rich corporations while failing to help Main Street, while he was pushed on his views on gold. When asked whether gold is money, Bernanke flatly responded “No.”
While most of Bernanke’s reports to Congress serve politicians to pursue their own agendas by gearing the Chairman towards their issues, with Republican Rep. Bacchus talking of the unsustainability of Medicaid and Rep. Frank (D, Mass.) asking about the need to raise the debt limit without cutting spending, it was a stand-off between Bernanke and Ron Paul that took all the attention. (Read Apocalyptic Bernanke: Raise The Debt Ceiling Or Else).
Rep. Ron Paul, Republican for Texas, asked Bernanke why a capital injection of more than $5 trillion “hasn’t done much” to help the consumer, who makes up about two-thirds of GDP in the U.S., and prop up the economy, while it helped boost corporate profits. “You could’ve given $17,000 to each citizen,” Ron Paul claimed…
…The interesting exchange served as one of the few times Bernanke has been publicly pushed off his comfort zone by an elected official. Rep. Ron Paul brought up the issues that he’s famous for, namely, a sort of allegiance between the Fed and the nation’s most powerful institutions, the illusion of fiat money, and the gold standard. Bernanke, angered and bothered, had no option but to respond. (Read Bernanke’s Contradiction: Minutes Reveal QE3 Talk And Exit Strategy)…
Read the complete article (which includes a photo gallery) at Forbes.com
Related posts:
- Bernanke To Rep. Paul Ryan: QE2 Created 600,000 Jobs
- Could Ron Paul’s Campaign Trigger a Return to the Gold Standard?
- Paulson Vs Soros: Gold And Silver Still Look Hot
- Lessons From the Bernanke Vote
- Market Gives Bronx Cheer For Bernanke’s QE2
Related: Everyone’s Buzzing About Bernanke’s Controversial Comments About Gold at Business Insider.
Update: Video: Bernanke – Who Is Ready for QE3? You’ll see he is pushing the President’s line on the debt ceiling, but midway through there’s talk of more stimulus…
