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TIME: Ben Bernanke

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Andrew Grathwohl

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http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages...1947251,00.html

I'm not all that surprised, but I'm pretty disgusted.

Some of my favorite quotes include:

His arguments aren't partisan or ideological

Professor Bernanke of Princeton was a leading scholar of the Great Depression. He knew how the passive Fed of the 1930s helped create the calamity — through its stubborn refusal to expand the money supply and its tragic lack of imagination and experimentation. Chairman Bernanke of Washington was determined not to be the Fed chairman who presided over Depression 2.0.

He didn't just reshape U.S. monetary policy; he led an effort to save the world economy.

He knows that the economy is awful, that 10% unemployment is much too high, that Wall Street bankers are greedy ingrates, that Main Street still hurts. Banks are handing out sweet bonuses again but still aren't doing much lending. Technically, the recession is over

He wishes Americans understood that he helped save the irresponsible giants of Wall Street only to protect ordinary folks on Main Street.

And that's only on the first of six pages! :D

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It should be noted that the award isn't given to a person on the basis of virtue: how many people this year have been more influential than 'Helicopter' Ben? He joins the ranks of Roosevelt, Hitler, Stalin, Obama, Khrushchev...

I'm curious how much 'protection' Main Street has once rates are raised and the speculative asset bubble bursts.

Edited by HansH
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It should be noted that the award isn't given to a person on the basis of virtue: how many people this year have been more influential than 'Helicopter' Ben? He joins the ranks of Roosevelt, Hitler, Stalin, Obama, Khrushchev...

I'm curious how much 'protection' Main Street has once rates are raised and the speculative asset bubble bursts.

Well, TIME certainly didn't take a very negative position on Ben Bernanke. TIME called him Person of the Year because of what (they perceive) he did to "save us," not destroy us. So not only is the choice ridiculous, but they didn't even execute it correctly.

Edited by Andrew Grathwohl
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Well, TIME certainly didn't take a very negative position on Ben Bernanke. TIME called him Person of the Year because of what (they perceive) he did to "save us," not destroy us. So not only is the choice ridiculous, but they didn't even execute it correctly.

The article is disgusting, but I don't understand why Time's choice is ridiculous (the basis they use is the person's impact, not their admiration for the person). The sad fact is that, economically speaking, he's perhaps the most powerful man in the world.

Edited by HansH
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