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WORD COUNT
582
APRIL 23, 2008
BEN BERNANKE SHOULD RESIGN – by William A. Collins
Poring through
Bernanke’s pitch;
It all seems geared,
To aid the rich.
Having now undermined
America’s financial system, eviscerated the dollar, and greased the
skids for millions of homeowners to become renters again, Ben Bernanke
should turn in his password and his limo, submit his resignation, and
sail off into exile. And that journey should require a fair sized yacht
because he might as well cart Alan Greenspan, Henry Paulson, and a
serious list of former treasury secretaries along with him.
The Cayman Islands
would be a fine locale. It’s already steeped in financial chicanery. The
new settlement might be called “Shenanigans.” It could advertise in “The
Wall Street Journal” for more settlers. Bermuda or Panama would be
similarly qualified. And we’re not even talking here about presidents,
senators, congress members, et al. Not yet.
The underlying
philosophy of these moguls is plainly that what’s good for Wall Street
is good for America. However, such “wisdom” is more supported by their
gravity of countenance and cost of wardrobe than by any commendable
public record. Rampant credit card companies and devious mortgage
speculators have plagued our citizens for a generation while the Federal
Reserve and the Treasury have largely winked approvingly.
Take the ongoing
housing bubble collapse. Non-profit economists have been warning about
it for years. And do you think it was kept secret from Mr. Bernanke that
Bear Stearns and other avaricious investment bankers were gathering up
fishy mortgages and sugar-coating them as high-yield investments? Who’s
kidding whom? The whole administration knew what was going on. It’s just
that no one wanted to spoil the fun.
Thanks, guys! Here in
Fairfield County, where many of those culprits live, you notice less
willingness these days for distinguished-looking gentlemen to look you
in the eye. Some have lost their jobs but others are being bailed out at
our expense.
Yes, the Fed is
lending cheap money to these giant investment banks in order to “protect
our financial system.” Too bad they couldn’t find a way to lend that
money to you and me at 2.25 percent. That would rocket up the economy a
whole lot faster than subsidizing Bear Stearns.
Unfortunately, the
Federal Reserve, despite its plenary banking powers, has never viewed
its role as a protector of individual citizens. That would be like
giving flak vests to the deer during hunting season. We deer are simply
the bottom of the food chain and should be prepared to sacrifice our
financial lives for the welfare of banks, credit card issuers,
investment houses and hedge funds. They’re the ones who make our country
great, providing us with jobs and loans that allow us to buy and lose
our homes.
In the end, the Fed’s
grand scheme of supporting the big guys failed to support us. But don’t
fret…it wasn’t supposed to. It was supposed to give opportunity to
wealth, greed and avarice to keep turning those quarterly profits. But
on the inside, most players knew that it couldn’t last. They just wanted
a few more juicy quarters before nature took its course.
Well, nature has now
arrived, the financial landscape is strewn with victims, the big guys
are reveling in cheap interest, and the dollar is on life support. Fed
and Treasury leaders ought to apologize, resign and go away. Is there no
shame? Sure, the president would then just appoint some new turkeys, but
it would be a good precedent. Bernanke and Paulson are lucky this isn’t
ancient Japan, where such ill motive required harsher penance.
--
Columnist William A.
Collins is a former state representative and a former mayor of Norwalk,
Connecticut. A photo of Bill Collins is available
CLICK HERE
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