Does Bernanke Deserve a Second Term?

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke will testify in front of the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday, which is the first step towards an expected confirmation of a second four-year term.

Bernanke's current term as Fed Chairman expires at the end of January. It is widely expected that Bernanke will receive a second term, as he has a great deal of support in the Senate.

Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, Christopher Dodd, contends that Bernanke has done a "pretty good job". Senator Sherrod Brown thinks that Bernanke has "generally done a decent job".

These comments generally echo the overall sentiment within the Senate - Bernanke made some mistakes during his first term as Fed Chairman, but did a decent job overall.

The debate over Ben Bernanke and his effectiveness during the financial meltdown of 2008 continues to rage over a year later.

Should Bernanke have seen the crash coming?

Was Bernanke at all to blame for the crash initially taking place, or does that fall at the feet of former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan and other people (such as Wall Street CEOs, those behind the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, etc.)?

Did Bernanke make things worse during the financial crisis with some of the decisions that he made, or did he act in the appropriate manner?

Did Bernanke help the country narrowly avoid a complete economic collapse, or did he help push us even closer to a potential depression?

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While Bernanke will almost certainly receive another term, that doesn't mean that he will have a smooth ride over the next few months.

The Federal Reserve is extremely unpopular right now, and you can expect that a great deal of vitriol will be aimed at Bernanke during the hearings that will take place over the next few months.

The big question is - do you think that Bernanke deserves a second term?

Photo: Federal Reserve

Filed under: General Market News