Ben Bernanke wants to know,Are you happy?

[Nova78]

Are you happy? Ben Bernanke wants to know | Comcast

The Federal Reserve chairman said Monday that gauging happiness can be as important for measuring economic progress as determining whether inflation is low or unemployment high. Economics isn't just about money and material benefits, Bernanke said. It is also about understanding and promoting "the enhancement of well-being."

Bernanke acknowledged that many people aren't too happy right now. Unemployment rose in July to 8.3 percent, and economic growth has slowed sharply from the start of the year. He called the recovery "frustratingly slow" when he testified to Congress on July 17.
In that speech, he said research has found that once basic material needs are met, more wealth doesn't necessarily make people happier.

His speech Monday was the latest foray into a relatively new specialty in economics known as "happiness studies." Bernanke attracted widespread notice when he spoke about the economics of happiness in a May 2010 commencement address at the University of South Carolina.




Most Americans our not ,if you work for the government ,I guess you are .....we are in deep shit.....

 

[Mad Scientist]

Ben Bernanke needs to do the "Perp Walk". Why isn't his ass in jail? Oh yeah, because Bankers like him OWN this country.

 

[DSGE]

Ben Bernanke needs to do the "Perp Walk". Why isn't his ass in jail? Oh yeah, because Bankers like him OWN this country.

I'm sorry, what crime do you think he's committed?

 

[Avorysuds]

Ben Bernanke needs to do the "Perp Walk". Why isn't his ass in jail? Oh yeah, because Bankers like him OWN this country.

I'm sorry, what crime do you think he's committed?

Like the federal reserve it acts outside of laws, that's the problem. How do you get someone in trouble for destroying wealth, for handing out cash to friends and helping create bubble after bubble after bubble? Of course there are no laws that he is breaking, congress and much of the rest of the worlds political figures personally make billions off the Fed.

 

[waltky]

Granny still wonderin' when dey gonna send dat check fer the 2nd stimulus...

Bernanke: Fed Ready For Forceful Action To Aid Recovery
Friday, August 31, 2012 - At the Jackson Hole economic summit, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke used uncharacteristically direct language to suggest the Fed could soon act to bolster growth and lower unemployment.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said Friday that the central bank plans to respond forcefully to the nation's sluggish recovery and mounted a powerful defense of the Fed's actions to date to keep the economy growing. In his widely anticipated remarks at the Jackson Hole economic summit, Bernanke did not say that action was imminent, but he used uncharacteristically direct and forward-looking language to suggest that the Fed could soon act to bolster growth and lower unemployment. The Fed chairman said the central bank intends to be "forceful ... in supporting a sustainable recovery." With Europe's financial crisis and the United States' looming budget cuts and tax hikes posing major risks for the recovery, he said, economic growth is "far from satisfactory," and he pledged the Fed will take additional steps to help the economy as needed.

As is common with Fed pronouncements, Bernanke hinted but offered no certainty of action to come. Still, the urgent tone of his remarks will leave investors disappointed if the Fed does not launch new stimulus at its Sept. 12-13 policymaking meeting. "We must not lose sight of the daunting economic challenges that confront our nation," Bernanke said. "The stagnation of the labor market in particular is a grave concern, not only because of the enormous suffering and waste of human talent it entails, but also because persistently high levels of unemployment will wreak structural damage on our economy that could last for many years." Also next week, the European Central Bank (ECB) will announce details of the steps it is taking to alleviate the continent's financial crisis, a major drag on the U.S. economy. If the ECB takes dramatic action, it might reduce the burden on the Fed to act.

Bernanke's speech comes at a politically and economically tenuous moment. The Fed is facing intense political criticism from the Republican Party, with key lawmakers urging the central bank to demonstrate "humility" and hold back from any new actions to stimulate growth. A number of Republicans, including GOP vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan, have said the Fed's actions have endangered the economy. The Fed chairman, a Republican, seemed to swipe back at these criticisms in his remarks. He invoked a GOP hero, the late economist Milton Friedman, to defend the value of "balance-sheet" policies that involve the Fed creating money to buy Treasury bonds and mortgage bonds to bring down interest rates. "Such policies can be effective, and ... in their absence, the 2007 [to] '09 recession would have been deeper and the current recovery would have been slower than has actually occurred," Bernanke said.

In his speech, Bernanke was upfront about the central bank's limits. As he has said several times in speeches and testimony, he insisted that Congress and the president carry most of the burden for making sure the economy is healthy. "Monetary policy cannot achieve by itself what a broader and more balanced set of economic policies might achieve," he said. "In particular, it cannot neutralize the fiscal and financial risks that the country faces. It certainly cannot fine-tune economic outcomes." He again implored policymakers to ensure that the nation doesn't go over the fiscal cliff with the series of deep spending cuts and sharp tax hikes set to take effect at the end of the year. Most economists believe that those measures would tip the U.S. economy back into recession -- perhaps a deep one. "Policymakers should take care to avoid a sharp, near-term fiscal contraction that could endanger the recovery," he said.

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[Moonglow]

I'm happy, working full time and making money. I run my own business.

 

[Moonglow]

There are 276 thousand fewer govt. workers than in the year of 1985.

 

[Moonglow]

RWer's myth about over paid govt. worker

The analysis is based on data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis and crudely done by dividing total compensation (salary and benefits) by the number of current federal civilian employees. Comparing such averages is quite misleading, for two reasons:
■First, BEA says the figure is inflated by including compensation that is actually paid to benefit retirees, not just for current workers. The figure is at least several thousand dollars too high, by our calculations.
■Second, the average federal civilian worker is better educated, more experienced and more likely to have management or professional responsibilities than the average private worker.

Officially, the Office of Personnel Management says federal civilian workers on average are paid 24 percent less than private workers — a figure based on surveys conducted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics and often cited by unions and their Democratic allies. But this is misleading, too. The BLS surveys don’t include the cost of benefits — which both sides agree are more generous for federal workers. Experts also say there are other flaws in OPM’s methodology that prevent a true apples-to-apples comparison.

FactCheck.org : Are Federal Workers Overpaid?

 

[Rozman]

Did someone say stimulus?....
All that free government cash!!!!

Where did it come from?...Who cares...it's government money...It's Obama's money...Now my rent is gonna be paid,all my bills gonna be paid...Yeh government money...I love it..

 

[Moonglow]

I sure like my Bush stimulus checks, but it's bad if Bernacke says so. hell they haven't even descussed the details yet.