NP but The Confidence Man: Bernanke

[David Morris]

http://www.ourfuture.org/blog-entry/2012093817/bernankes-wake-call-its-jobs-cliff

[I]nstead of focusing on steps needed to generate jobs, Washington is
mired in a debate about austerity—about how to put the squeeze on, not
how to get the economy going. Bernanke’s action was a cry for the
villagers to wake up.

 Republican Vice Presidential nominee Paul Ryan recently scorned the
president for not embracing the recommendations of the co-chairs of
the Simpson-Bowles Commission (neglecting to note that his vote
against the recommendations helped block their adoption by the
Commission). At the Democratic convention, both Bill Clinton and the
president suggested that deficit reduction should follow the
principles of the Simpson-Bowles recommendations.

Many of these recommendations are wrong-headed, but Simpson and Bowles
got one thing right: they concluded that long term deficit reduction
should be implemented only after the economy recovered.

“Don’t disrupt the fragile economic recovery. We need a comprehensive
plan now to reduce the debt over the long term. But budget cuts should
start gradually so they don’t interfere with the ongoing economic
recovery. Growth is essential to restoring fiscal strength and
balance.”