Fed chair Ben Bernanke appeared before the House Budget Committee this morning, giving a prepared statement, then taking questions from the panel members. Aside from the content of his comments (growth is slowing, we’re not in a recession, some quick economic stimulus would be good), I always find it unsettling to see and hear the questions from our elected officials on the budget committee, as they tend to make speeches posing as questions, that sometimes border on the absurd. Basically, they pretend to ask questions, and the Fed Chair pretends to give answers.
One congresswoman had Ben Bernanke confused with Hank Paulsen, (former head of Goldman Sachs, now Treasury Secretary) in a prepared question asking if the bankers who caused the credit market problems would repay their bonuses and salaries to the American people. You’d think at least her staff would be able to keep track of who was at Treasury and Fed. Ben probably wishes he had the bonuses she wanted him to repay.
