Senator (Bernie Sanders) opposes Fed chief Bernanke renomination

[UpInArms]

Source: Reuters

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senator Bernie Sanders said on Sunday he will not vote to reconfirm Ben Bernanke as chairman of the Federal Reserve, in a preview of the rough treatment Bernanke may get this week on Capitol Hill.

The central bank chief will testify on Thursday before the Senate Banking Committee at a hearing on his nomination to a second four-year term. The session could be difficult, with the Fed under fire from across the political spectrum.

The open opposition of Sanders, an independent outside the political mainstream, is unlikely alone to derail Bernanke's renomination. But it reflects the Fed's challenges.

"I absolutely will not vote for Mr. Bernanke. He is part of the problem," Sanders said on ABC's "This Week" TV program.

Bernanke "didn't ... do anything to prevent us from sinking into this disaster that Wall Street caused and which he was a part of," Sanders said, referring to last year's severe financial crisis and the deep recession that followed.

Under Bernanke's leadership, the Fed has greatly expanded its role in the economy, moving beyond its core monetary policy function to financing emergency bailouts of major financial firms in an attempt to stem the capital markets crisis.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSTRE5AS1FE20091129

[SandWalker1984]

1. Bernie is correct to oppose Goldman Sachs's little puppet

Bernanke’s REAL Legacy: Helping Goldman Sachs Fleece Us All
Posted on Friday, August 28th, 2009 | In Market Commentary

Contributed by: Graham Summers (http://gainspainscapital.com) -

http://www.straightstocks.com/market-commentary/bernankes-real-legacy-helping-goldman-sachs-fleece-us-all/

I’ve watched with first amusement, then disgust, and ultimately outrage as various pundits proclaimed Bernanke’s efforts “saved the financial system” or helped the US “weather the storm.” Bernanke did NO such thing. You could train a chimpanzee to hit the “print money” button at the Fed every-time the Fed phone rings with a Wall Street number and get the same results. To date, Bernanke has spent or put the taxpayer on the hook for some $24 TRILLION in bailouts, lending windows, and off balance sheet arrangements.

AND HE’S FIXED NOTHING.

Banks remain insolvent (if you marked their assets at market value, they’d all wipe out equity in a second), mortgages remain underwater, hundreds of thousands of Americans continue to lose their jobs every month, foreign investors grow increasingly distrustful of the dollar, and the financial system continues to have multiple black swans… all of which could bring about another CRASH.

Indeed, anyone looking to proclaim Bernanke as a savior should review the below video which shows that the guy DIDN’T HAVE A CLUE about the financial system/ economy from 2005-2007. Just click on the below image to watch (video should load in your Internet Browser). Prepare to see an Ivy-league educated guy who’s in charge of our monetary system NOT see the biggest housing bubble in US history OR the worst financial crisis since the ‘30s (an era on which he is an alleged expert).


However, to focus on Bernanke’s incompetence is to overlook his culpability in destroying Americans’ wealth. In the last 12 months alone, the man has committed perjury (he lied under oath about no longer monetizing debt), embezzlement ($24 trillion gone to banks at least $9 trillion of which no one, not even the head of oversight at the Fed, kept track of), fraud (any proclamation of green shoots or recovery is fraud), corruption (forcing Bank of America to buy Merrill Lynch), and more.

It would, in fact, be no exaggeration to say that Ben Bernanke is a financial criminal on a scale that makes Bernie Madoff look like Mr. Rogers. Madoff ripped off $50 billion. Bernanke is currently destroying the middle class in the US, trashing our currency, worsening EVERY Americans’ quality of life, and erasing any hopes of retirement for millions of Boomers.

In simple terms, Bailout Ben, in a mere year and a half, has overseen the destruction of 30% of US household wealth (from a housing and stock bubble he FAILED to see coming while working under Greenspan). He has yet to do a single thing to protect the average American or the dollar, but instead has opted to funnel trillions of taxpayer dollars over to Wall Street so that Goldman Sachs and friends could claim they’re not insolvent and pay themselves RECORD bonuses.

Folks, the US stock market is an enormous house of cards propped up by the biggest bubble-blower in history. Fundamentals have NOT improved, the economy continues to collapse (regardless of the GDP accounting gimmicks they use to claim we’re out of the recession), and stocks are at least 20-30% overvalued.

This mess will come unraveled. And it won’t be long…

[ixion]

4. and it won't be pretty

and will probably make the Lesser Great Depression of the 30's look like a cake walk.

[NV Whino]

2. Good for Bernie

One of the few congress critters without hid head up his ass.

[pattmarty]

3. I see Reuters isn't biased when it calls Bernie "an independent...........

.........outside the political mainstream". I think Sen Sanders is very much INSIDE the political mainstream.

[Dinger]

5. Kickin' Fo Bernie

He's awesome, as usual.

[Cleita]

6. I wonder who Bernie does favor? I haven't heard him say.

Maybe it's a good question to put to him when he's taking questions on the first hour of the Thom Hartmann show on Fridays

[ozone_man]

11. Paul Volcker would be my guess.

He is the only responsible FED chief to have served in the past 30 years, appointed by Carter. Sheila Bair might be a candidate. These are among the few who are not Wall Street puppets.

Geithner, Bernanke, Summer have got to go. They will be Obama's undoing as they are his appointments and it will go down in history that he chose unwisely if he stands behind them any longer.

Really, we have to abolish the FED and/or end the fractional reserve system responsible for our present woes. Re-implement Glass-Steagall, which Clinton eliminated in 2000, allowing banks to make risky investments, deregulating derivatives, etc..

[Selatius]

13. Glass-Steagall prevented mergers between commercial banks and investment banks.

This prevented a fundamental conflict of interest. Commercial banks often originate loans such as mortgages, and investment banks often buy these mortgages and repackage them into mortgage-backed securities that are then resold on the market like other securities such as stocks and bonds. The more securities they can sell, the more they make.

Necessarily, this means if a commercial bank is owned by an investment bank, there is the temptation to relax lending standards and push loans onto people who cannot afford them in the long-run, but no matter. The repackaged securities will be sold and out the door by the time the sucker defaults on his mortgage payments. It will be owned by somebody else. Let them deal with the fall-out.

A fundamental lack of regulation as well as deregulation led to the economic crash.

[Don Draper]

7. I love Bernie!

God, I love Sen. Sanders. He seems like one of the only few senators with some balls who is actually on the side of the people.

[Jefferson23]

8. Agreed, especially his stance on single payer, I love you Bernie!!

[redqueen]

9. Good. (nt)

[valerief]

10. That's why we love Bernie!!! nt

[robo50]

12. If I lived in Vermont, I would be so proud of him!

I am glad we have him in the US Senate, sorry so few Americans pay him any attention.

He's NOT a Democrat, and he makes that perfectly clear! He's an ally of ours, but he's better than most Democrats, IMO.

[madokie]

14. i'm in agreement with Bernie

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

15. Sen. Sanders obviously doesn't understand "change". nt

[chknltl]

16. We are the "Democratic" Underground and yet.....

I heard that when given a choice between a Republican and a Democrat who acts like a Republican, the voters will always choose the Republican. So how does that thinking apply to Senator Sanders? Is he an Independent who acts like a Democrat and if so shouldn't the voters be against him in favor of Democrats? Not so say we members of the Democratic Underground: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=389&topic_id=6482256

Truth be told, I'm not at all sure what to make of that poll but I too voted for Senator Sanders in it. I agree with Senator Sanders that Bernanke is part of the problem and I applaud his decision to speak out against him. I wish more of our Democratic leadership could do the same. I enjoy listening to "Lunch With Bernie" each Friday on the Thom Hartmann Show and highly recommend both.

[Tarheel_Dem]

17. Does Bernie know anyone who actually wants the job? Or is this just more posturing? (nt)

[Garam_Masala]

18. I am with Sanders on this one .. eom

[aquart]

19. Socialism makes good senators.

[pleah]

20. K&R