45dabb02f863877419636a00_pa2599c.jpg Paul Lachine

Let Finance Skeptics Take Over

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s term ends in January, and President Barack Obama must decide before then: either re-appoint Bernanke or go with someone else. Given Bernanke's complicity in the Alan Greenspan-era Fed's enthrallment with Wall Street, he deserves to be replaced.

CAMBRIDGE – The race is on to fill the most important economic policy position in the world. United States Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s term ends in January, and President Barack Obama must decide before then: either re-appoint Bernanke or go with someone else – the names most often mentioned are Larry Summers and Janet Yellen – with more solid Democratic credentials.

It is a decision of momentous consequence not just for the US, but also for the world economy. As guardians of the nation’s money supply and setters of short-term interest rates, central bankers have always played a critical role. Lower the interest rate too much, and inflation and monetary instability result. Raise it too much, and the economy slides into recession and unemployment.

Monetary policy is hardly a science, so a good central banker must be humble. He must appreciate the limits of his understanding and of the efficacy of the tools at his disposal. Yet he cannot afford to be perceived as indecisive, which would only invite destabilizing financial speculation.

https://prosyn.org/R3UTcPJ