Time Magazine’s naming Ben Bernanke “Man of the Year” is a little bit like celebrating an arsonist for his heroics in putting out a fire that he set. Bernanke has done creative and bold work in staving off a fianancial free fall. But he would also be on any list of the 10 people most responsible for creating the free fall.
Bernanke served as Tonto to Alan Greenspan’s Lone Ranger. He then succeeded Greenspan as head of the Federal Reserve. In that position, he got it wrong big time. He ignored the dangers of the housing bubble. He testified that the banks were well capitalized. He argued that unregulated derivatives posed no danger becuase all the participants were sophisticates who knew the risks. When the housing bubble popped, he argued that it would have little effect beyond the subprime market. When the recession had already started, he argued the economy was still strong. Even after Bear Stearns went belly up, he made no provisions for staving off the continuing crisis.
To stave off the free fall, Bernanke acted boldly to invest various ways to funnel literally trillions to private banks, brokerages, insurance companies and foreign banks and central banks, often in return for dubious collateral at best. All this was done in secrecy without a vote of Congress. It may have been heroic, but now Bernanke argues that it must remain secret, opposing an independent audit of the Federal Reserve. He says this would constitute a “takeover of monetary policy,” and sacrifice the independence of the Fed. But, as former Federal Reserve Chair Paul Volker says, intevening in specific markets or bolstering specific companies is not a proper role for a central bank. It can only be justified in emergency. The calamity that Bernanke helped create was a dire emergency. But even if what Bernanke did was heroic, it cannot remain secret in a constitutional Republic.
Help us Prepare for Trump’s Day One
Trump is busy getting ready for Day One of his presidency – but so is Truthout.
Trump has made it no secret that he is planning a demolition-style attack on both specific communities and democracy as a whole, beginning on his first day in office. With over 25 executive orders and directives queued up for January 20, he’s promised to “launch the largest deportation program in American history,” roll back anti-discrimination protections for transgender students, and implement a “drill, drill, drill” approach to ramp up oil and gas extraction.
Organizations like Truthout are also being threatened by legislation like HR 9495, the “nonprofit killer bill” that would allow the Treasury Secretary to declare any nonprofit a “terrorist-supporting organization” and strip its tax-exempt status without due process. Progressive media like Truthout that has courageously focused on reporting on Israel’s genocide in Gaza are in the bill’s crosshairs.
As journalists, we have a responsibility to look at hard realities and communicate them to you. We hope that you, like us, can use this information to prepare for what’s to come.
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In addition to covering the widespread onslaught of draconian policy, we’re shoring up our resources for what might come next for progressive media: bad-faith lawsuits from far-right ghouls, legislation that seeks to strip us of our ability to receive tax-deductible donations, and further throttling of our reach on social media platforms owned by Trump’s sycophants.
We’re preparing right now for Trump’s Day One: building a brave coalition of movement media; reaching out to the activists, academics, and thinkers we trust to shine a light on the inner workings of authoritarianism; and planning to use journalism as a tool to equip movements to protect the people, lands, and principles most vulnerable to Trump’s destruction.
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