In historical terms, this government intervention may go down as the best use ever of taxpayer money, risking $30 billion to stem a guaranteed 1929 style financial market and economic crash. Also, it’s interesting to hear the masses complain about the Fed intervention on Bear Stearns, yet not a peep or even blink of an eye to the $150 billion taxpayer money being essentially flushed down the (China) toilet with the economic stimulus plan. Now there’s a tax revenue usage that deserves wholesale public outcry, rather than what it’s unanimously received to date from taxpayers – an oblivious, Goofy-esque “okee-dokee” reaction.
By the way, the rebate checks don’t go out til May/June. So if any taxpayer does finally have a real world epiphany moment between movies on the flight home from Disney World, and suddenly realize the absolute total folly of this initiative and the associated complete waste and abuse of these precious taxpayer dollars, there is still time to mount a Congressional “stimulus cancellation” campaign with your Congressman/woman and Senators. In fact send them this article with a message “Anything But (stimulus)”.
In other words, yell at Congress, and applaud the Fed.
If the choice is to backstop Bear Stearns and "preserve" your (and I do mean YOU) personal portfolio equity and home asset values and standard of living OR seeing those precious “personal” assets go to zero (i.e. get totally wiped out) in a financial market meltdown, I think one would immediately view the chain of events quite differently and see that the Fed did precisely the right, and ONLY responsible thing, under the circumstances – “Stability Intervention”.
The Analyst would encourage those readers so inclined, to shift away from the cut your nose off to spite your face reaction to the Fed move. Instead, on behalf of your personal assets preservation, job security preservation, retirement preservation, your children and their children's financial future preservation, take just 5 minutes and write Mr. Bernanke and team a big glowing thank you note.
It's time this nation’s citizens cease ALWAYS looking for a negative and in this particular case seeing the forest through the trees, and start appreciating the GIFT the Fed gave you, and your families – a financial future.
And oh yes to a few, with discipline, limit your visits to the mental Magic Kingdom. 24/7a tad bit to much.
While President Bush has the traditional title of “Commander-in-Chief”, it’s time to rethink where the rubber really meets the road, and elevate someone to the more important and critical post of “Czar of Prudent Judgment” or even "Commander-in-Crisis". Mr. Bernanke should be nominated for the title and the NEW model for other government leaders, whether it be the President, Congress or the heads of any government agency or institution.
“Results over Politics” as Mr. Bernanke delivered, would indeed be a welcomed new Washington et al performance model.
Under intense fire Mr. Bernanke, you have brilliantly and rapidly grown into your job and almost overnight transformed the Fed Chairman function from reactionary bureaucrat to aggressive and innovative solution leader. Having saved 200 million or so adult U.S. citizens the pain and misery arising from their entire personal wealth being wiped out, you deserve this new title. No one prefers government intervention, but you “prudently” did what had to be done, and what few others would have had the guts to do so themselves. You stepped up and saved the financial system and doing so the broader economy from being 2 orders of magnitude worse off than a recession (even a severe one), had you not (intervened).
In fact the time has come when the government actually earns its keep and contributes real value to the average citizen. In fact, moving from “crisis generator” to “crisis preventer”, and for those that sneak by, “crisis solver”.
And a write-in vote this November to create the new cabinet position – “Czar of Prudent Judgment”, with Mr. Bernanke the sole name on the ballot. The Greatest (Brokaw term), Boomer and little cat Gen A, B, C…X, Y and Z whatever generations, thank you from the bottom of their hearty home equity, stock and tuition funding portfolios.
Interestingly too, those unabashedly astute, clever, and brilliant Wall Streeters are still playing by the old rules, continuing to call this a bear market with still a huge market down leg to come. They don’t get or rather, don’t accept, what just happened. In fact, an historic, monumental, ground breaking change in government leadership, achievement and direction. Indeed a paradigmal shift in the Washington leadership model, which too hopefully now transcends to other government leaders. These know-it-alls will be shocked (and awed) when they realize to late, the Fed now has the (very) hot hand. Their arrogance will lead to missing a huge ensuing bull market Mr. Bernanke has now not only set the stage for but already put in motion.
Their “Fight the Fed (and Treasury too)” mistake will haunt them day in and day out as they in position sympathy, fight the tape, until capitulating when the Dow is 2500 points higher than its January low. Only then will they finally realize the Fed is no longer the brainless patsy and/or fall guy, but rather firmly, cunningly and shrewdly leading and driving constructive change and stability in the financial markets. That it no longer takes direction but rather sets direction. To coin an Al “Haig-ism”, Mr. Bernanke should not only by his actions but verbally announce “Wall Street, I’m in Charge”, and unlike Al Haig, it will be deserved and anything but a hollow boast.
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