"BERNANKE: I would just say very generally, I think people are quite unhappy with the state of the economy and whatâs happening. They blame, with some justification, the problems in the financial sector for getting us into this mess, and theyâre dissatisfied with the policy response here in Washington. And at some level, I canât blame them. Certainly, 9 percent unemployment and very slow growth is not a good situation." http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2011/10/05/336510/bernanke-occupy-wall-street/
By not condemning it, and saying they are justified, he is effectively promoting it...just my take though.
I agree it falls short of saying something to the effect of "man these hipsters are really taking the proverbial bull by the horns...", but think about this in terms of who this man is and what his job entails.
My take is that he's tired of absorbing the blame (even though he deserves a shit load of it), and would rather put the focus on the incompetence of congress and this current administration. The shit show in August with the debt ceiling has probably frayed his nerves a bit as well.
A weak endorsement that BSNBC is playing it to the tilt as a voice in support of its "lean forward" mantra. Some of the mouthpieces are having a proverbial orgasm over it as a support of the group. If you haven't done so yet, check out BSNBC's coverage today. Seems like every program is reporting live from OLP. Wonder if Mr Ed will have another one of his rants disguised as a new program with the mob from the 'burbs. (waiting for the WTO crew to come in and leave their mark. Watch support for it dissolve rather quickly if that happens.)
Bernanke seems to have learned nothing from his time in Washington and is if anything acting even more inappropriately. He started his first term by blabbering after a couple of cocktails to Maria B at some party and created a stir in the markets. He failed to rein in excessive leverage at financial firms or unsafe mortgage lending, even though he had the power to do so. He then raised rates abruptly when he finally realized there was a housing bubble, instead of slowing letting it depressurize, thereby sending the mortage market into a tumble it still hasn;t recoverd from. Since real estate is so important to the economy, his incompetency has basically cost us trillions oif dollars and years of unemployment. Now, chafing at congressional criticism, he is trying to turn the tables and blame congress. It is a dangerous game. The Fed's political independence has always been controversial on both sides of the aisle. Berbnake is the first chairman who was so dense he didn't understand that political independence is a two-side coin. Just as congress cannot dictate or pressure the Fed, the Fed itself must be scrupulous in staying above the political fray. Bernanke has clearly violated that trust, and the first order of business of the new republican president should be to demand his resignation.