The International Business Times published an article on November 20th 2012 about how Ben Bernake, the Federal Reserve Chairman, really brought the fiscal cliff to the attention of federal lawmakers. Bernake spoke about this in his speech to the Economic Club of New York as he stated that "the ability of the Fed to offset headwinds is not infinite." This really made me think about how much power we have invested in the Fed's. The Federal Reserve has always been the most powerful form of banking and a great indicator of how the economy will be looking in the near future. However after reading this quote I quickly realized that despite the great power that the Federal Reserve has, it cannot keep this country running by its self. The fact that Bernake is asking for help really shows that the Federal Reserve really does need law makers help to start making head way on the fiscal problem that our country is currently facing. It is amazing to me how invincible the Federal Reserve seems to us as we discuss them in class. The class discussion and the packet we read about the Federal Reserve made me feel like they could fix any problem with the current fiscal situation. However after reading the quote by Bernake it made me realize that even the Federal Reserve needs help sometimes and that they cannot always fix everything immediately. This request for help from Bernake to the federal lawmaker’s shows how the Federal Reserve is not always invincible and that they do need help from time to time. In a quote from Bernake he states that the Federal Reserve has “spent a good deal of effort attempting to understand the reasons why the economic recovery has not been stronger." This comment by Bernake really seems like he is legitimately concerned about the fiscal cliff and that it is possible that the Federal Reserve cannot fix all of the problems that America is facing right now financially. However despite the fact that Bernake is requesting help from law makers, he said “preventing a sudden and severe contraction in fiscal policy early next year will support the transition of the economy back to full employment; a stronger economy will in turn reduce the deficit and contribute to achieving long-term fiscal sustainability.” This quote really seems as if the Federal Reserve has a plan that they will execute so at least they know what they need to do to keep our economy from falling even lower. This last quote really gives me hope that the Federal Reserve does have a plan, and we will be okay despite sitting on the edge of this fiscal cliff.
http://www.ibtimes.com/bernanke-challenges-lawmakers-address-nations-fiscal-problem-893204
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