Posted on 01/31/2006 12:01:02 PM PST by areafiftyone
Larry Kudlow likes the pick and that's good enough for me.
Interesting. The head Fed probably has more power than any single Supreme Court justice, yet this guy is approved by a voice vote.
The chamber sounded and appeared nearly empty (C-SPAN2 doesn't give a view that permits definite conclusions) for the voice vote. I would guess that fewer than 20 Senators were there at the time the vote was recorded as passing.
Just curious, how much does he make?
As long as he is not a Greenspan clone, I'm for him.
I have always thought that the EU Super Bureaucrats in Brussels hold the most economic policy job in the world by driving the EU countries toward more and more prosperous socialism (Extreme sarcasm).
He can't ban abortion
My aunt, who has worked closely with Mr. Bernanke and Mr. Greenspan for a number of years, thinks the world of Bernanke (Greenspan, too).
$180,100
Actually, not much considering they guy's power.
I agree. I thought it would be alot more.
PING A LING
*****
Sen. Jim Bunning, R-Ky., was the only senator requesting to be recorded as voting against the nomination. Bunning cited concerns that Bernanke would be too much in Greenspan's mold. "Sadly, I have not seen very much evidence of him being independent," Bunning said.
(Story continues below)
A former Fed governor and Princeton economic professor, Bernanke, chairman of the White House's Council of Economic Advisers, was tapped by President Bush in October for the Fed post.
Bernanke must be sworn in before he takes over as the chairman of the Fed.
The Fed determines interest rate policies that affect any person or business borrowing money. Its decisions — along with utterances from the Fed chief — can influence financial markets around the globe.
Bernanke will lead the Fed at a time when the U.S. economy faces challenges, including bloated budget and trade deficits, the question of whether the high-flying housing market will make a safe landing and the toll that high energy prices will have on business activity, household budgets and inflation.
The handling of monetary policy under the Bernanke-run Fed — at least early on — is not expected to be much different than of the Greenspan Fed. Both men share a similar philosophy in terms of the importance of fighting inflation, preparing for remote but dangerous economic risks, and keeping the economy on an even keel while nurturing job creation.
And, Bernanke — like Greenspan — will work to make sure the Fed remains free from political influence. That's , crucially important for the Fed to have credibility in the eyes of investors and central bankers around the world.
Yet, there are certainly differences between the two in both substance as well as style. Bernanke, for instance, favors numerically spelling out acceptable bounds for inflation. Greenspan didn't, arguing that it could crimp the Fed's flexibility. In terms of setting interest rates, an inflation target wouldn't make much practical difference because the Fed's preferred range of inflation under Greenspan — which wasn't publicly announced — was 1 to 2 percent, excluding food and energy prices. That's the same range favored by Bernanke.
Bernanke, in his Senate confirmation hearing on Nov. 15, said he would move slowly and seek to build a consensus on the notion of inflation targeting.
While Greenspan is known for his Delphic discourse, Bernanke is known for his plain-speaking style.
The Senate's action is the latest step in Bernanke's journey from academic to economic policy maker.
Born in Augusta, Ga., Bernanke graduated from Harvard with an economics degree and added a Ph.D. in economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He spent six years teaching at Stanford's Graduate School of Business, 17 years at Princeton and several years as a visiting faculty member at other institutions, including MIT.
"I always thought I would be an academic lifer," he once said.
Bernanke left the classroom behind when he became a Fed governor in 2002, a job he held until June 2005 when he became the president's chief economist.
__________________________________________________________ I love how the REAL role of the Fed is simply not discussed here! Amazingly poor reporting.
"Set intrest rates" sounds like they send little emails around to banks.
One might wonder why anyone had this job in a supposedly free market. Or how effective they are given that one can find intrest rates for consumers between 0% (with cash back!) to 21% or whatever hellish rate the lumpen must pay at the Paycheck Loan store.
In fact the main job of the Fed it to create money out of thin air. This article would have been a lot more honest if it had said: "The new chairmans role will be to help the largest banks decide how much money they are going to create out of thin air, and to provide a way for the government to issue more debt, even when no one is buying.
Under the past Chairman the Bank was also involved in a number of large scale transfers of wealth to banking cartels and other organizations of the rich worldwide, and experts expect such transfers to continue under the new Chairman. Once confirmed the Chairman may not be removed from office, unlike the President, who may be impeached. Despite the appearance created by this Senate approval the Fed remains a private entity, not subject to the legislature or executve branch.
" Sen. Paul Sarbanes, D-Md., observed: "There's no question about Dr. Bernanke's qualifications for the position ... He commands great respect from his peers in the profession and I think great respect from all who have come in contact with him."
That could have easily been said about Justice Alito, hey Sarbanes?
What? No filibuster?
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