Ben Bernanke speaks out on the U.S. deficit
The Chairman of the Federal Reserve stated on Wednesday that a lowering of the outlook on the U.S. debt by a major ratings agency for credit may well be the incentive needed to “goad” Washington towards facing the enormous debt that faces this country. He made history as being the first Chairman of the Federal Reserve to ever hold a press conference and makes his presence known in an attempt to stir up a response from top government officials.
The recent Standard & Poor downgrade gave the U.S. a rating of negative from the previous stable grade. And even though it’s been a well known fact for some time that our government is in ever deepening financial trouble, it won’t hurt to raise interest in actually doing something about it… finally. We must do anything possible to get the Congress and administration to face the problem and finally move toward solving the financial dilemma.
Taking questions from reporters today, Bernanke addressed several issues important to Americans including methods of laying groundwork to insure a speedy recovery along with ways to end overspending. The rating reported by the S&P was among many topics discussed by the Federal Reserve Chairman. This goes against the long standing tradition held by the Fed which has been among DC’s most secretive institutions. Now Bernanke plans to hold three newsworthy meetings this year as he wants to make the U.S. central bank more accessible to the general public. Previous and possible 2012 presidential candidate Ron Paul has called for the Federal Reserve to be abolished altogether.
Bernanke also discussed the exorbitant gas prices, currently at or over $4 per gallon around the country. The increases in gasoline will only serve to create broader inflation in an economy already struggling with high prices, and there seems to be no end in sight for rising gas prices. Evidently no one is able to gain control of the situation so we all must suffer the consequences.
