Bernanke acknowledges ‘economy has worsened.’
By on Feb 14th, 2008 at 3:09 pm
Bernanke acknowledges ‘economy has worsened.’
During a Senate Banking Committee hearing today, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke warned “that the country’s economic outlook has deteriorated” and the economy will continue to endure a “period of sluggish growth”:
“The outlook for the economy has worsened in recent months, and the downside risks to growth have increased,” Bernanke said. “To date, the largest economic effects of the financial turmoil appear to have been on the housing market, which, as you know, has deteriorated significantly over the past two years or so.”
View Most Popular
Advertisement
What We're About
What We're Fighting For
What We're Fighting Against
Featured
Subscribe to the Progress Report
Topic CloudView topics sorted by popularity
Afghanistan
Bachmann
Beck
Boehner
Business
Cheney
Civil Rights
Congress
Corporate Ethics
Dobbs
Economy
Education
Election
Energy
Environment
Ethics
Fox News
Gingrich
Glenn Beck
Global Warming
Health Care
Immigration
International Relations
Justice
LGBT
Lieberman
Limbaugh
Media
Military
O'Reilly
Obama
Palin
Pelosi
Politics
Race
Radical Right
Religion
Sports
Steele
Stimulus
Tea Parties
Tea Party
Terrorism
Veterans
Women's Rights
Visit Our Affiliated Sites
Reports
In-depth studies on select topics
Got a hot tip?
Have a hot news tip? We'd love to hear from you. Use the form below to send us the latest.
ArchivesBlog Roll
Jason Hendler are you listening ?
February 14th, 2008 at 3:10 pmDamn librul media.
-Turdblossom
February 14th, 2008 at 3:12 pmThe Clinton Camp is gonna be ticked-
David Shuster to Return To MSNBC Feb. 22
February 14th, 2008 at 3:13 pm(plugging ears)
NO ITS NOT! NO ITS NOT! LALALALALALALALA
Oh, and make sure that doesn’t wind up on any .gov website. Someone might actually SEE it. GASP!
February 14th, 2008 at 3:13 pmNot according to Der Dumbya, the Shrubinator.
February 14th, 2008 at 3:16 pmQuick, waterboard him to find out what’s really going on. Or to shut him up!
February 14th, 2008 at 3:16 pmthis can’t possibly be true! TracyII’s taxes have gone down!
February 14th, 2008 at 3:17 pmYou left out the part where Bernanke said, “No recession in 2008.”
This echos comments from other Fed members.
February 14th, 2008 at 3:17 pmAnd just when bush wants to shut down the Bureau of Economic Analysis……just a little late bushie.
February 14th, 2008 at 3:21 pm#9 Yeah, dog, and global warming is a hoax, too.
February 14th, 2008 at 3:24 pmHow long will it take for a troll to bring up the technical definition of a recession? I will preempt them by pointing out something obvious: if voters think it is a recession, and most of them do, they will punish the party in power as though it really is a recession, whether it meets a contrived technical definition or not.
February 14th, 2008 at 3:26 pmEven though Bernanke’s forecast envisions an improving economic picture later this year, the Fed chief said it was nonetheless ‘important to recognize that downside risks to growth remain, including the possibilities that the housing market or the labor market may deteriorate to an extent beyond that currently anticipated’ or that credit will become even harder to secure.
February 14th, 2008 at 3:31 pmBernanke’s job is to talk up the economy. There is an inherent bias in this direction to what he says.
February 14th, 2008 at 3:32 pmHow long will it take for a troll to bring up the technical definition of a recession?
Comment by VerbalKint
Not to be a “troll” but technically a recession is defined by 2 quarters of negative growth. It won’t “officially” be a recession for another 6 weeks.
Anyway, fuck the recession. I expect us to be in a full blown DEPRESSION within the next 2 years.
February 14th, 2008 at 3:34 pmWell, I am sure the Halliburton soup-kitchens will run like clockwork.
-GSD
February 14th, 2008 at 3:34 pmBe careful what you say, Ben, or Bush will pull your plug and blame it on “budgetary constraints,” just like he did to the EconomicIndicators.gov website site.
The Emperor has his clothes, you know. You can see them, can’t you?
February 14th, 2008 at 3:35 pmMy question is: why is Ben Bernanke getting all his economic data from the media?
After all, they’re the ones who say the economy is failing, aren’t they?
February 14th, 2008 at 3:36 pmGuess I’ll be looking to refinance in April :)
February 14th, 2008 at 3:36 pmAlternate headlines
Bernanke Acknowledges Nothing
Bernanke Ackowledges The Obvious, But Still Doesn’t Accept It
Bernanke Sad About House Market, Not Interested In House Inhabitants.
February 14th, 2008 at 3:37 pmYou left out the part where Bernanke said, “No recession in 2008.â€
This echos comments from other Fed members.
Comment by muckdog —
Greenspan didnt tell the truth till he left the FED. Menember?
February 14th, 2008 at 3:38 pmYou left out the part where Bernanke said, “No recession in 2008.â€
This echos comments from other Fed members.
Comment by muckdog — February 14, 2008 @ 3:17 pm
Would this be the same Bernanke who in 2006 said:
“The housing market, after flying high for five years, has lost altitude but appears headed for a safe landing”
Yeah. I think his rosy predictions are what we should pay attention to.
February 14th, 2008 at 3:44 pmEconomic growth is measured using numbers from corporations that cook their books. The definitions used for unemployment and the CPI are transparently fraudulent. The purchasing power of most Americans is in sharp decline, and has been for quite some time now. Consider the four big-ticket items: food, health care, energy, and housing. Which of these has been inflating at only 3% a year? None of them.
February 14th, 2008 at 3:45 pmGuess I’ll be looking to refinance in April :)
Comment by AMcG773
GOOD LUCK! The banks are tightening up the requirements, and oddly enough, Bernankes cuts are actually INCREASING the bank’s lending rates.
February 14th, 2008 at 3:46 pmNo $hit Sherlock Bernake! Most americans have been feeling the crunch of this recession for months now. This buffoon is just acknowledging it?? Or maybe he had a gag order placed on him like Sibel Edmonds?
February 14th, 2008 at 3:46 pmOk this is way too much for one day, first we have Dems standing up to the Repubs then we have Bernanke telling us what we all can already see after denying it since Jan.
February 14th, 2008 at 3:46 pmThe entire Bush Administration of smoke and mirrors is that absolutely everything prepared by this administration is “cooked to the max” – so much so that nothing contains even a shred of truth these days. More evidence of “high crimes”.
February 14th, 2008 at 3:47 pmConsider the four big-ticket items: food, health care, energy, and housing. Which of these has been inflating at only 3% a year? None of them.
Comment by VerbalKint
I don’t know about housing and health care, but food and energy are NOT included in the inflation statistics.
Go figure.
February 14th, 2008 at 3:48 pmGreenspan will eventually be remembered as the worst Fed chairman ever.
Personally I have been criticizing him ever since 1999, when he pooh-poohed the stock bubble. After that he enabled the Bush tax cuts and a return to deficit spending. Then he flooded the economy with cheap money to inflate a real asset bubble as a way to avoid the pain of deflating the stock market bubble. Then he encouraged home buyers to use ARMs. Yup, easy-money Greenspan was a complete disaster.
February 14th, 2008 at 3:48 pmDeny, deny, deny – Chimpy’s SOTU line “the economy is strong” – what a load of bullcrap right in the faces of the people. Just like the Civil War which has been going on for years in Iraq, so goes the classification of recession. Everyone knows it and has experienced it and these sick liars in this administration don’t have the guts or personal integrity to admit the truth.
February 14th, 2008 at 3:49 pmThis echos comments from other Fed members.
Comment by muckdog — February 14, 2008 @ 3:17 pm
And of course, you believe them, because you have no problem with getting it in the butt again and again from your corporate masters.
February 14th, 2008 at 3:49 pmI’m afraid that this is more prima facie evidence of the Bush Coup on this country. Why do you think it makes sense for the economy of this country to go down the tubes? It’s called martial law.
February 14th, 2008 at 3:50 pm“Bernankes cuts are actually INCREASING the bank’s lending rates.”
It has been apparent for some time that the Fed cannot control long term interest rates. Home mortgages are tied to the 10 year Treasury note rate. The Fed’s arm doesn’t reach nearly this far up the yield curve.
February 14th, 2008 at 3:50 pmBreaking News:
Ben Spanky Bernanke testifies that feces tends to be brown.
More updates to follow.
-GSD
February 14th, 2008 at 3:50 pmFascism reigns supreme in the United States, thanks to Bush’s Fascist coup on the citizens.
February 14th, 2008 at 3:50 pmWe’re getting richer much slower now, quick, we need to find ways to get money from lower & middle class Americans to our banks and corporations. Oh wait…
February 14th, 2008 at 3:51 pmGSD: I wonder what color his feces will be when he’s on a diet of bread and water? They all deserve to be in jail.
February 14th, 2008 at 3:51 pmTime Magazine had an article in the fall of 2007 quoted 8 different successful business people acknowleging the economy was slowing and would have a recession within 6 months. At Christmas Food Banks were asking for donations as they had more people needing help than any other year. Homeless shelters were seeing more families without homes. But hey, this administration kept saying everything was all sunshine and roses, kinda of like they will greet us with flowers.
February 14th, 2008 at 3:52 pm“I don’t know about housing and health care, but food and energy are NOT included in the inflation statistics.”
Fixed income gurus Bill Gross and Bob Rodriguez have been criticizing the CPI for some time now for underweighting the cost of housing and health care in its basket of goods. Housing is factored in as some sort of imputed rent that no longer resembles the reality of home prices.
February 14th, 2008 at 3:53 pmThe Clinton Camp is gonna be ticked-
David Shuster to Return To MSNBC Feb. 22
Comment by Paddy
Thank goodness. Talk about making a mountain out of a molehill.
What will Hillary do now to play the victim card? Does she really think that wins her votes?
February 14th, 2008 at 4:06 pm“Does she really think that wins her votes?”
What I find astounding is that Mark Penn is still running strategy for Clinton’s campaign. It shows monumentally bad judgement on her part. How could anyone possibly believe that Penn is winning over voters by insulting them? His pejorative statement about “impressionable elites” takes the cake. If I didn’t already think that Penn is both slimy and stupid, I might wonder if he was a mole trying to bring down her campaign.
February 14th, 2008 at 4:14 pmYou left out the part where Bernanke said, “No recession in 2008.â€
This echos comments from other Fed members.
Comment by muckdog
Fool Tool Troll muckdog needs to get new reading glasses. Nowhere in that article does it say that Bernake said “no recession in 2008″. The article said:
Bernanke didn’t speak of a recession and said his forecast still calls for growth, albeit slow growth.
Saying that Bernake didn’t speak of a recession does not mean he doesn’t think there will be a recession.
I love this, though:
By one rough rule of thumb, a recession occurs when there are two consecutive quarters — six straight months — when the economy shrinks.
So, you have to be in a recession for six months before anyone can say that it is a recession. That doesn’t make a lot of sense.
February 14th, 2008 at 4:14 pmif voters think it is a recession, and most of them do, they will punish the party in power as though it really is a recession, whether it meets a contrived technical definition or not.
Comment by VerbalKint
That’s why Bush’s tool Bernanke is trying so hard to stave off a recession right now by constantly lowering interest rates. He has been ordered by Bush to make is so that the recession doesn’t start until after he is out of office. He thinks that then the public will blame Obama for the recession. But, it’s not going to work. The American public is no longer asleep. They know what is causing this recession and it has NOTHING to do with the Democrats.
February 14th, 2008 at 4:17 pmThey know what is causing this recession and it has NOTHING to do with the Democrats.
Comment by bilbobaggins — February 14, 2008 @ 4:17 pm
this piss-poor economy can be laid at the feet of Reagan and the Bushes. Only Democrats know how to govern and how to defend the USA. republicans loot the treasury, and stand by while terrorists kill thousands and destroy billions of dollars worth of real estate.
February 14th, 2008 at 4:24 pm“To date, the largest economic effects of the financial turmoil appear to have been on the housing market, which, as you know, has deteriorated significantly over the past two years or so.â€
Thanks, for the usual NOTHING.
FC
February 14th, 2008 at 4:28 pmThe elephant deficit in people’s wallets and checking accounts is getting harder to ignore.
February 14th, 2008 at 4:33 pmCertainly great that our administration is on the cutting edge of what is happening to America. I feel so safe. Next we will hear our Ports and Borders aren’t safe.
February 14th, 2008 at 4:36 pmNo sh*t, Sherlock.
February 14th, 2008 at 5:01 pmBe interesting to see how many bush supporters there are after their income gets hit.
February 14th, 2008 at 5:05 pmLove all the mixed messages, just like having a dysfunctional parent. You don’t know what to think. However, I do know what to think. I think we have been in a recession since last fall.
February 14th, 2008 at 5:43 pmAs Fed Chairman, Bernanke has two main jobs:
1. Try real hard not to use the word “recession” during Republican administrations and use it as much as possible during Democratic administrations.
2. Lower interest rates for Republican administrations and raise them for Democratic administrations. (I believe the rate was raised 14 times during Clinton’s last two years.)
February 14th, 2008 at 6:49 pmBernanke is a genius, that one, huh?
February 14th, 2008 at 7:30 pmWow.
Bush-Bush is worse than Coolidge-Hoover.
Next stop…Hooverville.
All aboard?
FC
February 14th, 2008 at 10:48 pm