Even though I’ve been in Washington almost 25 years, I am endlessly amazed at the chutzpah of people who support higher spending and bigger government while piously lecturing the rest of us about the need to control deficits. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke is a good (though “bad” might be a better term) example of this hypocrisy. He was an avid supporter of bailouts and so-called stimulus, yet the Washington Post reports that he is now hectoring us to be fiscally responsible:
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke warned Wednesday that Americans may have to accept higher taxes or changes in cherished entitlements such as Medicare and Social Security if the nation is to avoid staggering budget deficits that threaten to choke off economic growth. “These choices are difficult, and it always seems easier to put them off — until the day they cannot be put off anymore,” Bernanke said in a speech. “But unless we as a nation demonstrate a strong commitment to fiscal responsibility, in the longer run we will have neither financial stability nor healthy economic growth.”
[…] making misguided statements about fiscal policy (endorsing the faux stimulus, endorsing bailouts, endorsing tax increases, and siding with Obama on the debt-limit […]
[…] Bernanke frequently pontificates about the supposed horrors of deficits and debt (I write “supposed” because the real problem is spending, with red ink being a symptom of a government that is far too large). Yet he endorsed Obama’s failed stimulus. He’s also asserted that reducing the burden of government spending would hurt the economy. And he was an avid supporter of the TARP bailout. […]
[…] his endorsement of deficit reduction (at least in the long run) is stained by crocodile tears since Bernanke supported bailouts and endorsed Obama’s failed stimulus. But while Bernanke is not a fool, I can’t say the same thing about Republicans. Bernanke has […]
[…] his endorsement of deficit reduction (at least in the long run) is stained by crocodile tears since Bernanke supported bailouts and endorsed Obama’s failed stimulus. But while Bernanke is not a fool, I can’t say the same thing about Republicans. Bernanke has […]
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Hypocrisy?
So long as the American people buy it come election time, politicians will keep selling it.
Europe is the future. Some countries like Greece are already taking in water. The other European Welfare States will follow sometime in the next couple of decades. Unfortunately, by the time Europe sinks, Americans will also be too far down into the Welfare State to reverse course.
My advice: Don’t put down too many roots. Keep mobile. Americans with significant emotional or other investment in their country are in for a tough ride down. They’ll tend to hang on to the Titanic…
Hmmm, how about then the politicians just come out and say the gov has to raise the retirement age to age 90? Ha that will take care of the future problem. any buyers on this?
i wonder what the unions are thinking?