ben bernanke is not a moron
In this post, my co-blogger asserts that Bush's pick is a moron. But who, exactly, should Bush have picked? No self-respecting Austrian economist would accept the job, and since they are the only true believers, the only ones left will be wishy-washy on hard money, at best. Does Bernanke's "printing press" speech prove he's an idiot? Not at all. The speech only indicates that Bernanke Bernanke accepts the political reality of the Federal Reserve and understands what it is: nothing more special than a printing press.
As Tyler Cowen explains here, Bernanke is, in fact, quite smart and not a moron and is probably the best one could reasonably expect and was a safe choice for Bush.
posted by Ross @ 6:20 PM
2 Comments:
What makes you so sure that no self-respecting Austrian economist would accept the job? (We'll ignore the impossibility that Bush would actually appoint one). I'm sure an Austrian economist could have a lot of fun giving speeches promoting hard money and doing his best to minimize the Fed's role in the economy. Similarly, the libertarian Ron Paul has been at it for many years in Congress doing the same thing (and thank God for that). And on a more personal note, I know one hard-core libertarian who has worked for NASA for many years.
Wouldn't accepting a government job just legitimize the state? But maybe you're right. I think there was a post on either mises or the lewrockwell blog describing what an Austrian economist might do as Fed Chair.
As for that libertarian who works for NASA, I think I know who you're talking about, but anybody who claims to be libertarian should not work for the state if possible. I hope any self-respecting libertarian would be doing his or her darndest to find a private sector job.
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