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Why Congress Is Asking Bernanke Bogus Questions

Few people think Ken Lewis is the good guy. This is all relative. The fact that the Fed is now viewed less favorably than Ken Lewis should make you happy, as some Congressman may decide to ask those questions.

Politicians are cowards and will not act unless they are assured of success. The Bernanke pinata took enough whacks to embolden one or two, I believe.

The Andrew Jackson Portfolio - Nine Stocks for $20

Andrew Jackson would find a way to kill the Fed, but in the meantime he'd short the banks to oblivion.

The Road to Economic Hell

There was never unregulated capitalism in America, and certainly not since the creation of the Federal Reserve or New Deal. The cost of regulated capitalism and a socialist market economy is coming home to roost—or has everyone missed that the heavily regulated European banks are in even worse shape?

How Wall Street Keeps Dooming Itself

"Do you really support a system that is dysfunctional at its very core because so many people depend on it? This mentality could be used to justify any number of wasteful and inefficient allocations of capital."

That explains almost every single government agency and program in America, right down to public schools, police and military. So I guess the answer is yes, for at least 50(+1)% of the people.

Misunderstanding the Great Recession

I think the credit crisis and economic decline are two different things. The Fed printed too much money for a decade and there would be a reckoning no matter what.

As for the economy, there are a few intersecting events. For the first time in world history, the entire world could compete with the U.S. and demographic decline reduced the growth rate of the domestic workforce. Finally, consider the creative destruction of Internet and communication technologies.At first, new technologies earn a high profit and boost the economy, but it is the second stage of technological acceptance that wipes out the old order and causes losses throughout business, with the benefits passing to consumers. We are experiencing the wake of the tech boom. There are still investments taking place, but we are learning how to cut costs using recent inventions now, not making capital investments in new technology, because there is more money to be earned through cost cutting.

Good Financial/Bad Financial Divergence

Buffett expects Goldman will be able to grab a healthy slice of the $700 billion bailout which will be run by a former Goldman employee.

The U.S. on the Precipice

TonyC-SA: what you say is a fallacy. SS does not force savings, it takes money from one person and gives it to another. It is actually a system of forced consumption which contributed to our current problem. To compare the poverty of the Depression and earlier periods of American history is not applicable to today's situation. I don't think we need forced savings, SS as welfare could work because the vast majority of people would save, and would earn far better returns than SS pays. But if we have forced savings, it should be in IRAs and 401ks, not a transfer program.

The U.S. on the Precipice

We can thank the creators of the Fed and Hoover/FDR for giving us socialism, and we can blame every President since for not abolishing the New Deal and the Federal Reserve. Programs such as Social Security and Medicare underly the whole system and encourage people not to save. The problem goes far deeper than one President; both parties are offering more socialism, just in different forms. There's a long way to go before the bottom is reached.