Quotes from Ben S. Bernanke

If banks won't borrow because they fear that doing so might send a bad signal about their financial health, then having a lender of last resort does little good.

and I sat at his side.

the idea that free markets produce socially desirable outcomes even though each buyer and seller acts purely out of selfish motives.

I was called in about twenty minutes past the appointed time.

However, by August 16, financial conditions had deteriorated to the point where we were ready to be more aggressive.

Much of the negative reaction resulted from a communications misstep.

Sometimes market fears can be self-fulfilling, and a strong demonstration can avoid the worst outcomes.

Politicians will have to do the heavy lifting here, because for the most part these are not issues that can be addressed by the Fed or monetary policy.)

market participants grew even more concerned that the Fed wasn't being proactive enough.

but even there confidence was waning, notably overseas.

Weeks passed with no word, and I became convinced that I would be staying at the CEA.

but we were balancing two competing concerns. If

to gauge their interest—just in case.

I thought that Dodd's comments were less about principle and more a reflection of his assessment that bashing the Fed was politically popular.

are comparatively less well-off

Typically I did not see him for dinner.

then monetary policy has at best only short-lived effects on output and employment.

Anna had a better idea than I did of the mental, emotional, and physical demands the job would make on both of us.

The market thinks Bernanke is a rock star!" Bob Pisani of CNBC declared (prematurely, to say the least).

She also brought a practical banker's perspective, a valuable complement to the economists on the Board and the FOMC.

Sheila backed off—for the moment.

I trusted Barney's political instincts and concluded that fighting the council proposal would be fruitless.

As predicted, bankers remained nervous about the potential stigma of borrowing from the Fed.

Although my parents always treated Lennie Mae respectfully, I was aware of the social distinctions between us, probably in part because Lennie Mae herself was so aware of those distinctions.