He promised the Federal Reserve would not monetize the debt of the U.S. government.
Bernanke lied to Congress.
He promised the Federal Reserve would not monetize the debt of the U.S. government.
“He promised the Federal Reserve would not monetize the debt of the U.S. government.”
To be fair, no one believed him. Nor was anyone supposed to. Pretending the U.S. government doesn’t tax its citizens (and everyone else who uses our dollars) through inflation is a time-honored ritual, but it is utterly, utterly formal, symbolic, and meaningless. Aside from bailing out financial interests to avoid recession, the entire rationale for the Fed in the first place was to subsidize the treasury. Duh.
The Fed promising not to monetize debt is like Jesus promising not to die for our sincs. That’s why God made him, just as that’s why Ben Bernanke has a job.