Wednesday, July 22, 2009

The Fed And Consumer Protection? Gimme A Break!

Apparently the dual policy goals of fighting inflation and encouraging economic growth don't keep the Fed busy enough. They're looking for more things to do. Now the Fed wants to look after your best interests:

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said consumer protection should be added to the Federal Reserve Act as a formal policy goal along with low inflation and full employment.

“We were not quick enough, we were not aggressive enough to address consumer issues earlier in this decade,” Bernanke, 55, said in response to a question from Christopher Dodd, the Connecticut Democrat who chairs the Senate Banking Committee.


There's no way I can take this seriously. This trial balloon is obviously some kind of ploy to make naive people in Washington or the media think that the Fed is manned by do-gooders who place Joe Six-Pack's well being before Goldman Sachs'. I can't wait to see the next red herring they throw in our faces. Maybe this wouldn't be such a poor idea if it completely replaces the existing mandates for growth and against inflation, mandates which the Fed is spectacularly failing to deliver.

Note to Fed: The best thing you can do to protect consumers is to quit printing money at warp speed. This consumer destruction policy will make it very hard for savers to fund their retirement years.

I sent my resume to the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco several years ago and was dismissed as "unqualified." Yeah, I'd say I'm unqualified to ruin a nation's economy.