por admin » Vie Ago 26, 2011 2:55 pm
Bernanke pone la pelota en la esquina de los legisladores (Congreso democrata, presidente democrata)
Bernanke dijo: "la mayoria de las politicas que promueven el crecimiento economico estan fuera del mandato del banco central" Para alcanzar estabilidad financiera y economica, la politica fiscal de US tiene que estar en un sostenible camino que asegure que la deuda en relacion con el ingreso de la nacion es estable o de preferencia declinando a largo plazo"
MAS CLARO IMPOSIBLE.
Bernanke Puts Ball in Politicians' Court
By DAVID REILLY
When it came to monetary policy, Ben Bernanke said little during his much ballyhooed Jackson Hole, Wyo., speech Friday. And, if anything, what the Federal Reserve chairman didn't say was more telling.
While some investors had hoped Mr. Bernanke would signal new, even more accommodative, monetary-policy actions, he didn't go down that route. "Unlike last year, there was no discussion of the tools that could be employed," RBS economists noted. "In fact, the specific tools under consideration were not even named."
Nor did Mr. Bernanke give a sense the Fed feared the U.S. economy was in such bad shape that it was in or headed for a double-dip recession. Mr. Bernanke failed to even once mention the word deflation; in his 2010 oration, it came up six times.
Taken together, this renewed hope for stock-market bulls that the U.S. economy is indeed in a soft patch rather than a deeper slowdown. At the same time, Mr. Bernanke's declaration that the Fed's September meeting would be extended to a two-day affair signaled to some that extraordinary easing options remain on the table, especially if coming economic data weaken further.
Mr. Bernanke's reticence also underscores tensions within the Fed. The Fed's unprecedented decision at its August meeting to keep short-term rates at near-zero levels until 2013 led to three dissents from Fed governors. That limits Mr. Bernanke's room for maneuver, at least for the moment.
But when it came to fiscal policy, actions that are taken by the government, Mr. Bernanke was far more verbose. He went to considerable length to again argue that politicians must do their part to bolster the economy.
"Most of the economic policies that support robust economic growth in the long run are outside the province of the central bank," Mr. Bernanke said. "To achieve economic and financial stability, U.S. fiscal policy must be placed on a sustainable path that ensures that debt relative to national income is at least stable or, preferably, declining over time."
His urgings hopefully will put more pressure on both the administration and Congress to reach sensible compromises as they grapple this fall with another round of negotiations focused on the long-term deficit. He also urged them to not hit the brakes so hard that they undermine the struggling recovery, saying that in today's unusual economic environment, "policies that promote a stronger recovery in the near term may serve longer-term objectives as well."
In a similar vein, Mr. Bernanke went to pains to highlight the malaise within housing markets and the drag this is having on the recovery. Again, this should be a reminder that politicians need to develop policies to address structural problems in that market, rather than simply rely on low mortgage rates to heal the wounds of the housing bust.
Not that Mr. Bernanke or investors should put too much store in politicians doing much more than politicking. But he's right to try to wean markets and politicians off the idea that the "Bernanke put" is always the answer.