[groanup]

Then, when it was hurting the real economy, the Fed *did* do its job, raised interest rates, and broke the real estate bubble.

And that is the real story, isn't it? When I see these guys criticize the Fed for easy money policies I never see them criticize the Fed for the tight money policies that removed the puchbowl. But the ash heap of economics is littered with the Orange County, Californias and the Bear Stearns dead bodies that couldn't outlast the tight money.

[AndyJackson]

I never see them criticize the Fed for the tight money policies that removed the puchbowl.

When did that happen. Bernanke was so late in the game that the real estate bubble was headed for the CCU for a detox regime. It didn't matter what he did. The culprit is Greenspan, starting about the first day of his reign of terror.

While I think that Bernanke was in a boxwith nor right moves - he was an idiot for taking over a losing hand and even more of an idiot if he did not know the hand he was taking over was a losing hand - I think he is now picking the worst moves of all.

[AndyJackson]

1. We have not had a tight money policy in this country since Volker was chair.

2. Orange County was not caused by tight money. It was caused by an idiot who thought he was going to make a lot of money with the taxpayers money betting on a derivatives position that went South when interest rates were raised.