It's been five years since Lehman Brothers went under. Ben Bernanke, with his bold experiment of low interest rates and quantitative easing, has done us all a huge favour. First by rescuing the global financial system from the edge of a cliff, and next by protecting jobs even amidst a recession - a feat that has had most economists shaking their head in amazement. Examples such as this and this seem to defy economic gravity.
To go one step further, I would credit Bernanke from sparing us the ills of social revolution in America, or from (god forbid!) fascism or communism, which have a tendency to rear their heads when the economic going get's tough.
In short, he seems to have achieved nothing less than a miracle. At what cost, however? US income inequality has only widened since 2008, as the rich and get richer and the poor's wages stay stagnant.
(This is the point where Ben comes in with a nagging finger and gently reminds that 'But they still keep their jobs you know!'. Hallelujah!)
I would argue though the bigger danger is morality. Those who created the toxic products that imploded in a big mess and almost brought down the entire financial system with it have, by and large, gotten away scot-free and pocketed huge bonuses. This PBS documentary calls them The Untouchables. The amazing concentration of power that Wall Street and the finance industry accrues has not diminished one iota since the days of the crisis. We could be setting ourselves for another repeat since people have gotten the message that it is okay to sell toxic products and walk away - because Bernanke will print more money and the world will be fine.
Thank you Ben. Really, on behalf of the world, a very big thank you.
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