Bill Bonner goes against the Big Media-Big Government model for prosperity. He responds to a headline — “World economy rests on Bernanke’s shoulders”:
Who is this man, Ben Bernanke, and what kind of shoulders does he have? Is he a great deep thinker … a renowned philosopher in whom the world’s people could have confidence? Is he a captain of industry … a man who has proven that he can lead men and run a profitable business? Is he an investment wizard, like Warren Buffett, with billions of dollars as testament to his understanding of the world of money? Is he even a powerful politician or an acclaimed statesmen, who can at least pretend to solve the world’s problems by threats and force?
He is none of those things. He is a fellow who studied economics and became a university professor. Now he is a quasi-bureaucrat, working as head of a quasi-bureaucracy, whose main function is to make sure bankers make a profit.
Bernanke, like all political technocrats bent on controlling the free market, must convince the world that he knows what he’s doing:
An economy functions best with no one in control. Central planning doesn’t work. A little bit of it is a drag. A lot is fatal.
But people don’t like it when things are “out of control.” And that’s the problem with capitalism. It is always out of control. At least, it should be.
And that’s Mr. Ben Bernanke’s real role … the service he provides is making people believe it is under control. But the illusion of control is expensive.
He pumped $1.2 trillion into the banking system after Lehman collapsed in 2008. What did he get for it?
About 80 cents worth of GDP growth for every dollar spent. A losing proposition; but maybe he can make it up on volume!
Who is this man, Ben Bernanke, and what kind of shoulders does he have? Is he a great deep thinker … a renowned philosopher in whom the world’s people could have confidence? Is he a captain of industry … a man who has proven that he can lead men and run a profitable business? Is he an investment wizard, like Warren Buffett, with billions of dollars as testament to his understanding of the world of money? Is he even a powerful politician or an acclaimed statesmen, who can at least pretend to solve the world’s problems by threats and force?
He is none of those things. He is a fellow who studied economics and became a university professor. Now he is a quasi-bureaucrat, working as head of a quasi-bureaucracy, whose main function is to make sure bankers make a profit.
He pumped $1.2 trillion into the banking system after Lehman collapsed in 2008. What did he get for it?
