August, 25 2009, 01:12pm EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Sam Husseini, (202) 347-0020; or David Zupan, (541) 484-9167
Bernanke at the Fed: Captain of the Titanic?
WASHINGTON
ROBERT AUERBACH
Professor of public affairs at the University of Texas at Austin, Auerbach is author of the book Deception and Abuse at the Fed. He said today: "The Federal Reserve operates with far too much secrecy. The officials leading the Fed today preside over an organization that is run in substantial part by the bankers they regulate."
DEAN BAKER, [via Alan Barber]
Available for a limited number of interviews, Baker is author of Plunder and Blunder: The Rise and Fall of the Bubble Economy and is co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research. He said today: "Reappointing Ben Bernanke because of how he has dealt with the crisis is like giving another command to the captain of the Titanic based on how effectively he got people into life boats.
"Even his recent performance raises serious questions. Why does lending from the Fed's special facilities have to be secret, when anyone can go to the Treasury's website and find immediately all the loans made under the TARP? And why is Goldman Sachs still speculating like an investment bank now that it is chartered as a bank holding company and enjoys the security blanket of the Fed and the FDIC?"
Baker was one of the leading economists warning of the housing bubble and its likely negative effects. His his blog is here.
A nationwide consortium, the Institute for Public Accuracy (IPA) represents an unprecedented effort to bring other voices to the mass-media table often dominated by a few major think tanks. IPA works to broaden public discourse in mainstream media, while building communication with alternative media outlets and grassroots activists.
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