Person of the Year 2009: Ben Bernanke

[Viking Prince]

Person of the Year 2009: Ben Bernanke

The story of the year was a weak economy that could have been much, much weaker. Thank the man who runs the Federal Reserve, our mild-mannered economic overlord Full Story »


I am not going to say that everything that Chairman Bernanke has done is right or even appropriate. I do think that Time missed a chance focus more closely on the institution rather than the man. If I were on the time board making this decision, I think I would have made the 'honor' to the 'Chairman of the Federal Reserve' as an institutional person rather than the flesha dn blood individual.

Time has done this in the past with the World Wide Web in 2006 and named Earth the Planet of the Year in 1988 as a push for greater environmentalism. This is always a political decision and to be honest a brilliant marketing ploy to sell their magazine. This year is no differant, but maybe less of a disappointment than many of the past 'persons'.

[Stavroforos]

Looking at the other candidates, I guess this was the best choice...

...though c'mon, A-Rod must have been a strong candidate!

[JP226]

I'm not completely upset with his performance thus far. I wasn't big with his bailouts and didn't buy into the whole dominos theory but... he could have done far worse and it helps having Dr Great Depression on staff at a time like this.

[aletoledo]

The way government is viewed is changing for whatever reason. For example, Obama gets a noble peace prize for the work of his campaign staff. Therefore I don't think it's a surprise that Bernanke is credited with everything the Federal Reserve does.

On a different note though, I think it's comical that the monetary policy of the Fed is what gets us into our current mess and then people credit them with saving us from the mess. I think the winner is therefore Bernanke, because he gets justification enough to steal from the public coffers while the rest of us starve.

[Admiral Piett]

Right, cause the interest rates and the incentives pushed forward by the reserve weren't some of the very seeds for this whole mess in the first place. We definitely need to make the Reserve a national bank. There's simply no reason for any aspect of it to be private at all.

[BNS]

To tell you the truth I kind of winced at this news. I don't agree with his bailouts. The massive monetary injections have done little good. Banks are finding it more profitable to sit on the money than to lend and it has prevented the liquidation of many poisonous assets. Furthermore I am unclear as to his exit strategy from this loose monetary policy. I agree he is a very powerful man but I am not convinced by the claims of him being the great savior of our economy.

[chilon]

The story of the year was a weak economy that could have been much, much weaker. Thank the man who runs the Federal Reserve, our mild-mannered economic overlord

LOL. Its hard to take Time seriously after this award. Bernanke as Person of the Year makes as much sense as Obama as Nobel Peace winner.

http://dailybail.com/home/sickest-jo...person-of.html

[The Devil's Sergeant]

It should have been Glenn Beck.

[Stavroforos]

It should have been Glenn Beck.

For the lulz?

[The Devil's Sergeant]

For the lulz?

Love him or hate him, you have to admit he is man with some major mojo going for him. Aside from his TV and radio gigs, he is selling books, stage and movie tickets.

He is a conservative's Oprah.

[Stavroforos]

Love him or hate him, you have to admit he is man with some major mojo going for him. Aside from his TC and radio gigs, he is selling books, selling theater and movie tickets.

He is a conservative's Oprah.

Well, they both know how to pander to their audience by dumbing themselves down.

[BNS]

I agree with Sergeant on this one. This guy came from out of nowhere to becoming one of the most well known and polarizing figures in politics. Regardless of what you think of him his words carry a lot of weight.

[Martin N]

Are we really surprised, i mean a man who is escalating a war gets the peace prize, so it makes perfect sense that the man who was at the forefront of the meltdown gets hailed for saving it.

[pilgrims choice]

Are we really surprised, i mean a man who is escalating a war gets the peace prize, so it makes perfect sense that the man who was at the forefront of the meltdown gets hailed for saving it.

ITS ALL SO ORWELLIAN

WAR=PEACE

DEPRESSION=PROGRESS

IS IT SO HARD BELEIVE THAT OUR LIBERTY IS BEING STOLEN?
BY THE CORPERATIONS AND OFF-SHORE CARTELS!!!

[BlackPirate]

Wtf?They should chose Obama

[Admiral Piett]

Wtf?They should chose Obama

LOL

Why not? He's already gotten a damned peace prize why not garner him every major award for the year!

[Stavroforos]

Didn't Obama get it last year?

[Enemy of the State]

He certainly deserves this. He is probably the post powerful man in the world. More powerful than Obama even. But that doesn't mean what he is doing is right...

[JP226]

The fed is a powerful entity but they aren't the en all be all. When they issue a decree that inteeset rate shall be X, it's as much a suggestion as it is mandatory. For the housing bubble to do what it did, there was more at play than the fed maintaining low interest rates and what's more is that money and wealth in the world isn't solely represented by currency.

[Viking Prince]

The fed is a powerful entity but they aren't the en all be all. When they issue a decree that inteeset rate shall be X, it's as much a suggestion as it is mandatory. For the housing bubble to do what it did, there was more at play than the fed maintaining low interest rates and what's more is that money and wealth in the world isn't solely represented by currency.

All very true, but the real problem with the naming of the chairman is continuing the belief started by Greenspan that the Fed Chairman is somehow acting independant of the board. He only acts based on the board votes and may even be in minor disagreement in some cases.

The real purpose is to sell magazines in any case. If Ted Kenedy would sell more copies....