373 Quotes by Ben Bernanke

The more important reason is that the research itself provides an important long-run perspective on the issues that we face on a day-to-day basis.

This necessary spending should not, however, jeopardize the president' long-term deficit-reduction goals.

Certainly there is no way to direct the effects of monetary policy at a single class of assets while leaving other financial markets and the broader economy untouched. One might as well try to perform brain surgery with a sledgehammer.

To avoid large and unsustainable budget deficits, the nation will ultimately have to choose among higher taxes, modifications to entitlement programs such as Social Security and Medicare, less spending on everything else from education to defense, or some combination of the above.

The prospective increase in the budget deficit will place at risk future living standards of our country. As a result, I think it would be very desirable to take concrete steps to lower the prospective path of the deficit.

By not tying policy to a small set of forecast indicators, we may sacrifice some degree of simplicity, but we are less likely to be misled when a favored variable behaves in an unusual manner.

This step would in no way reduce the importance of maximum employment as a policy goal, ... In any case, I assure this committee that if I am confirmed, I will take no precipitate steps in the direction of quantifying the definition of long-run price stability. This matter requires further study at the Federal Reserve as well as extensive discussion and consultation.

Under a cold turkey strategy, at each policy meeting the Federal Open Market Committee would make its best guess about where it ultimately wants the funds rate to be and would move to that rate in a single step.

If I am confirmed to this position, my first priority will be to maintain consistency and continuity with the policies established during the Greenspan years.