Bernanke Blasts Rand Paul Back

The Fed is touchy these days.  No wonder, with economic growth lagging and the tools of monetary policy failing to do what the Fed probably can’t do: spur economic growth. So Ben Bernanke, former Fed chief, is blasting Rand Paul in blistering terms (for the Federal Reserve) for proposing a minor “Audit the Fed” bill: “This is very deceptive — this bill is very deceptively titled,” Bernanke said during a discussion at Nasdaq’s Times Square headquarters to promote his new book, “The Courage to Act.” Bernanke suggested the bill wasn’t about increasing transparency so much as giving lawmakers more control

High Praise for Rand Paul’s Challenge of Ben Bernanke to Debate

The Libertarian Republic has this to say about Senator and presidential candidate Rand Paul’s recent challenge of Ben Bernanke to debate: Ben Bernanke, who recently called Senator Rand Paul and those like him “know-nothings” because they wish to audit the Federal Reserve and question the central bank’s manipulation of the price of money. So let’s get this straight: seek more information, transparency, and discourse from one of the most powerful and privileged institutions in the world and you will be called ignorant and unwilling to learn. It appears the former Federal Reserve Chairman prefers condescension over open debate. Who would

Chris Christie and Jeb Bush Show Real Leadership By Tackling the Fed

Recent statements by two presidential aspirants, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, indicting the Fed for its role in inhibiting job creation, causing wage stagnation and paralyzing income mobility, come in the context of a titanic public dispute over the role of the Fed in causing such a sluggish, bad job creation, low wage growth economy.  Both Govs. Bush and Christie deserve high praise for showing leadership in addressing what deserves to be a leading issue in the 2016 election. Late last April, Ben Bernanke, in his Brookings blog, trenchantly critiqued prominent conservative economist John Taylor.