Real Estate Investing Blog

Ben Bernanke: “Dumbass of the Decade?”

January 22nd, 2010 by Brad Rundbaken

Ben Bernanke: Dumbass of the Decade?

Ben Bernanke, "Time Magazine’s Man of the Year".

How about “Dumbass of the Decade?”

You just can’t make this stuff up! This choice by Time Magazine displays the collusion between the government and the main stream media. Bernanke as "Person of the Year" is almost as bad as President Obama receiving the Nobel Peace Prize.

I believe in the next year or so it will become apparent to all the "sheeple" out there, who just gobble up all the BS from the main stream media as the truth, that Ben Bernanke is actually "Dumbass of the Decade" instead of "Man of the Year" when everyone realizes what he actually did with our money. The only true way to find out what he did is to audit the Fed. Unfortunately, if the Fed were audited today we would probably have another stock market crash when everyone realizes where all the money went to.

The Dumbass Bernanke Timeline:

July 1, 2005, Bernanke stated without hesitation that we were not experiencing a housing bubble: "I think what is more likely is that house prices will slow, maybe stabilize, might slow consumption spending a bit."
November 2005, on derivatives: "With respect to their safety, derivatives, for the most part, are traded among very sophisticated financial institutions and individuals who have considerable incentive to understand them and to use them properly." And "the Federal Reserve’s responsibility is to make sure that the institutions it regulates have good systems and good procedures for ensuring that their derivatives portfolios are well managed and do not create excessive risk in their institutions."
February 15, 2006: "Housing markets are cooling a bit. Our expectation is that the decline in activity or the slowing in activity will be moderate, that house prices will probably continue to rise."
February 2008: "I expect there will be some failures of smaller banks." (Bear Stearns collapsed a few weeks later.)
But then again, I guess in regards to his nomination we are talking about achievements in 2009. That was the year Bernanke said, "Currently, we don’t think [the unemployment rate] will get to 10 percent."

This is the same chairman of the Federal Reserve who told us that Fannie and Freddie were "adequately capitalized" and "in no danger of failing".

Unfortunately, he has not just been wrong about housing, unemployment, banking, and derivatives – his policies have directly contributed to all of the problems we now face.

High unemployment and the weak dollar threaten to further undermine our economy, yet his policy is to just keep borrowing. The massive debt his policies have slapped the American taxpayer in the face with are weakening the U.S.’s position as a global economic leader and hurting already tenuous relations with foreign governments. Bernanke has supported the policies of Greenspan and our current and previous administrations – the very policies that got us into this mess. He has supported the leveraging of the American economy to rescue companies long past saving and the borrowing of billions from foreign governments to line the pockets of corrupt investment bankers.

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Comment by Dan

January 27th, 2010 at 9:20 am

great post! It’s simply amazing how the bs perpetuates itself!

Comment by L.Lee

January 27th, 2010 at 9:27 am

It is easy to be cynical of people trying to do something and make a difference. I have found that the biggest critics are the laiset people.

Comment by Chris

January 27th, 2010 at 9:44 am

I agree that borrowing MORE is not the answer. We, as a country, just needed to take the “hit” early, suck it up, and take responsibility for our greediness and ride out the problems without bailouts.
Yes, I know we would have seen great turmoil in the stock markets from not bailing out investment institutions, but all it really did was give everyone a false sense of security for the inevitable. We will still see our country head into problems in the future now that our dollar is so weak and we can’t pay back our debts.

My BIG question is: Would anyone have the GUTS to take the necessary action that would have MADE us ride out the problem we created for ourselves? No doubt, a smooth talking politician would have risen to power somewhere and convinced the irresponsible majority that borrowing would have helped and we’d be back in the same mess.

Obama’s message of hope was all the American population needed to hear to elect him into office, smart move on is part. I just don’t think the promises he made were realistic and truthful.

Then again, who can tell the total truth that predicts hard times for our collective mistakes and thinks they can get elected?

Comment by David Castro

January 27th, 2010 at 10:02 am

Its time to Demand,Set Standards of Accountability and Enforce Them…if the individuals at the Helm Fail, Remove Them,Cut off any Benefits…Rewards Must Meet Accomplishments.

Comment by David

January 27th, 2010 at 10:23 am

This is a great article that should be in the hands of all American citizens… along with a lot of other informative info that exposes the men behind the curtain and educates the public. The probem is that the majority of Americans are “sheeple” and only open themselves to the Mainstream Media.

I have a neighbor that always asks me “Where did you see that… the internet?” like if it didn’t come from the TV, talk radio or the newspaper, it has no validity.

I pray that America wakes up soon and begins to take back the power that the Constitution gives us. It is as simple as it sounds, but it requires awareness and exercizing our rights. No apathy allowed.

Comment by Michael M. Mendoza, PhD, CREI

January 27th, 2010 at 10:56 am

The financial issues that our Government is currently under are in such disarray that I think, they do not have any real and effective solutions. The mess that the previous Administration got us into is so vast that no one in their right mind can absolutely remedy everything that went wrong. The extent of financial corruption in the previous Administration went on for so long. If we oust Bernanke, then who in the U.S. can handle the duties and responsibilities of the Federal Reserve Chairman, and to take America out of the financial mess that we are in?? I hope we have a right candidate, if need be.

Comment by Dr DangerPuppy

January 27th, 2010 at 11:01 am

There should have been no bailouts. Just like bailing out the horse and buggy manufacturers would have been a mistake, so it goes with other poorly run and/or outdated companies. They should survive on their own merits, or not at all.

However, borrowing at 1% to payoff debt at 10%? Why not? Or if not to payoff old debt, at least to invest in new jobs – like fixing or replacing ailing infrastructure before bridges and roads collapse? New hydrogen filling stations to support the new hydrogen cars (if you’re one of those people that still thinks hydrogen cars are a myth, then go lookup the Honda FCX). I won’t go into all the places money could be spent to create jobs, suffice to say borrowing at today’s never again to be seen low rates is a good idea – provided the money is spent wisely, not on fools that have already driven their companies into the ground – no bailouts!

We all know – or should know – infrastructure needs to be either rebuilt or fixed and it’s going to come out of the taxpayers pocket. So the question is, borrow today at 1% or borrow after rates go back up? I prefer to borrow at low rates.

Comment by Chris

January 27th, 2010 at 11:22 am

You should have more respect, calling people names only reveals your poor taste and lack of class, delaying progress toward solid results.

Comment by Wanda Sanders

January 27th, 2010 at 11:38 am

Thanks, great article! I appreciate reading articles filled with facts and written by people who are ‘critical thinkers’!

Comment by Brad Rundbaken

January 27th, 2010 at 11:51 am

I am the guy who wrote this article. I appreciate all the comments. I actually made a mistake and should have let “Dumbass” Bernanke and Alan “Greenputz” Greenspan share the Dumbass of the Decade Award. Those of you who are offended by my twist of satire in the article should go learn how to laugh and not take life so serious.

I also would suggest you read the article below:
Theft! Were the US & UK central banks complicit in robbing the middle classes?

by Albert Edwards, Societe Generale
http://tinyurl.com/yc4ws2f

Keep in mind the Fed is NOT borrowing money but rather printing it out of thin air which creates other problems down the road while our government spends recklessly.

At the end of the day, heads should role. Especially the individuals who were responsible with oversight in this matter, which includes Bernanke. If the Fed has nothing to hide regarding how they handled this crisis they should have no problem being audited by the Congress. Until that occurs Bernanke will remain a Dumbass in my opinion, which is being kind considering the damage he has done to our great country.

Have a nice day.

Comment by Marco Santarelli

January 27th, 2010 at 5:28 pm

Thanks for your contribution Brad. Clearly your article is a statement of facts and not a political statement. Thanks!

Comment by Dr DangerPuppy

January 27th, 2010 at 10:06 pm

“High unemployment and the weak dollar threaten to further undermine our economy, yet his policy is to just keep borrowing.” – Brad Rundbaken

“Keep in mind the Fed is NOT borrowing money but rather printing it out of thin air which creates other problems down the road while our government spends recklessly.” – Brad Rundbaken

Comment by Bill

January 29th, 2010 at 6:29 pm

The so called financial sages that have been at the helm for the public and private financial sector either didn’t see the bubble forming (Dumbass) or were in denial as their egos were being stroked by others as the economy was humming along. My concern as a real estate investor is; with the collapse of the derivatives and collateral debt obligation markets,(securitized mortgages)that were the driving appetite around the world, that was driving up demand and prices on real estate so much.
How many years will it take to get back to the previous highs and how much further do we have to fall? The majority seem to think that we are at a bottom but I’m very sceptical. What do you think?

Comment by Brad R

January 30th, 2010 at 6:09 am

Bill, the answer is “it depends.” It depends on the geographic location, local economy and market segmentation. For example in my hometown, Charleston,SC, there are 3 real estate markets:
1. Less than $350k
2. Shorts sales/foreclosures
3. Greater than $350k

The less than $350k market has bottomed and is doing fairly well due to affordability and new jobs coming to our city. The upper end of the market will take years to bottom out due to an oversupply of homes and difficulty obtaining financing.

Just like the stock market, real estate has thousands of mini markets that should not be painted with a broad brush.

Hope that helps. Good luck!

Comment by Lyn

January 30th, 2010 at 1:49 pm

Recently in the news the Fed made $50 billion give or take a few last year. I have had to point out to more than one person in conversation that the Fed is not a government institution, but a privately held bank with a monopoly on control of our money supply. Everyone looks at me like I’m pulling their leg. But WHO owns the Fed is an interesting topic to me, as that would tell us a bit about where it all went.

So don’t you wonder where the $50 B went?

Comment by Jim S.

January 30th, 2010 at 9:48 pm

I’m going to try and keep this short (probably won’t happen, but I try), as posting it for those who want to believe the hype are not going to believe the truth, anyway. Plus, it does not suit their own unwitting belief that by placing the blame for their shortcomings and lack of understanding into how things truly work, on others, as a way of eliminating their own faults…Human nature provides an internal mechanism for man to blame others when they either don’t understand what happened or do understand and can’t or won’t take responsibility for it.

First, the Fed Bank is privately owned; meaning, not owned by the Government. Thomas Jefferson once said that a Central bank that exists to print money and loan it to the populace is more dangerous than a federal government, somewhat paraphrased, but you get the idea. This is why the Congress does not have the ability to audit the Fed Bank; unless, of course, the Fed says okay to that. GOOD LUCK!

Second, the truth of the matter is, be honest here for a minute, put your political affiliation aside. I’m not absolutely sure that it was 2006 (could have been 2005), but, and this is a matter of record that can not be disputed, (unless you are one of those people who want to ignore this fact for your own political agenda, which, of course, means that you are a very dishonest person and I don’t see how you can look yourself in the mirror without being ashamed) John McCain was on the Senate floor trying to introduce a bill to stop Fannie May and Freddie Mac from their loan practices and rein in their activities. The administration at that time was the Bush admin, so don’t even attempt to lay the blame for the economic meltdown at their feet! The TRUE source of the beginning of the meltdown, read that Bubble Bursting, were the lending practices of these two institutions. By the way, those practices were instituted by Bill Clinton, just the facts Ma’am, just the facts! They are the ones who wrote the worst paper in the real estate lending industry that got packaged into “Quality” paper and sold off to the secondary markets. In otherwords, Junk paper to look like Good paper just waiting for enough “packages” to hit the street before the inevitable would happen! AND IT AIN’T OVER YET, FOLKS! Just wait for the Commercial defaults in 2010, 2011, and 2012 to hit the proverbial FAN! They are, by some estimates, 4 or 5 times as big as what we have already seen! Not sure, if anyone truly knows precisely, but they definitely have a pretty good idea!

For the best part of that last, rather lengthy paragraph, do you know who stopped McCain’s proposal and whistle-blowing on those two illustrious lending organzations? Out of guesses? Try again…Times up!
I’ll list just the top 3:
1. Barney Frank
2. Chris Dodd
3. Barack Obama

Guess who received the MOST money from those two lending organizations for their campaigns and God knows what! Number 3!

I know that some of you will refuse to believe and choose to ignore these facts; but, it is in the Senate Records. COLD, HARD, FACTS!

Now, lest you think that I am a Bush Admin supporter and have made this up to cover up their faults. Let me clarify, I did vote for Bush, both times, because he was the best of the two, or the least worst. You decide. But, they did many things that I have been very angry about. Like, the bailouts?! But, even so, they didn’t cause or perpetrate the fiasco! The policies of the ones in control of the organizations themselves are the ones who did it; let’s see, that was Barney Frank, Chris Dodd, and company. Started before Bush was, first time, elected.

I, firmly, believe that all of those who got shored up should have gone belly up! The only thing that the shoring up did was delay what was going to happen eventually anyway. As evidenced by General Motors, for example. Anyway, with the bailouts, Obama was able to backdoor, some will read that as an end-run, control, and giving it to the Unions, to which he owed a payback for all of the support they gave him, before, during and still after the election.

As far as who should be held accountable? All of the Dems, and, all of the Repubs who voted for the Bailouts and the Stimulus, an Oxymoron, if there ever was one since it damn sure didn’t stimulate anything other than BIG, MONSTER PAYBACKS for the behind-the-scenes support (read that under the table support) that the handful of Dems received for stopping the regulation of those two lenders. The Repubs didn’t get any help for their campaigns, but many of them voted for the bailouts and they should go FIRST because they have NO excuses for it!

Frankly, I would like to see criminal charges against many of those involved because some, if not all, of what they perpetrated on the American Public is, by legal definition, illegal. BUT, I can promise you there are not enough people in Washington with the GUTS to do the RIGHT thing! That’s why we are in the mess we are in! There is no one with any GUTS, up there!

Just for your info, I trade Forex, wouldn’t touch a stock or that market even if you put a gun to my head or my disabled daughter! Nothing but a manipulated market that an individual will be hard-pressed to survive in. As a currency trader, I really don’t care much which way the dollar goes because I make money in either direction. As an American Citizen, it makes me sick to see what is happening to the dollar because as the dollar gets weak the price of gold rises. MANY MORE people think that putting their money into gold will save them and they are getting “set up” by those who manipulate the markets. Why, you ask? Simple logic, mathematics and manipulation. As the dollar is forced into weakness, gold prices rise, as the dollar strengthens, and it will, as soon as the Fed quits jacking with it. What do you think will happen to the price of gold, then? Um-m-m, let me see…does the price of gold decline? Bingo, you win the Teddy Bear! What happens to the money that went into the gold market when gold was purchased by the unsuspecting and they panic because a fourth, third, half or more of the value is lost? Let’s see, buy gold on the way up, for arguments sake, at $1200, $1300, $1500 (whatever)/oz; and, oh-my-gosh, the fed changes monetary policy and the dollar begins to strengthen and gold is now $1000, $900, $700 (whatever)/oz. You calculate the frenzy!

Real Estate? Some areas have been hit hard, some areas, like Texas (some areas hit but not so hard) not hit hard. Just wait ’till Commercial paper resets! Like Donkey in the movie Shrek says at the beginning of the movie when he starts to fly and the pixie dust wear off and he begins to fall; UH-OH!!

You get the idea.

As long as Obama continues on the path he is trying to pursue, the economy WILL NOT get better! Simple math, dear folks! Spend more than you can produce, and tax more to make up for it, the less can be spent in creating new jobs and hiring more people, taking them off the unemployed roles, meaning less money to be put back into the economy and less to generate revenue on which taxes would be paid…etc, etc, etc. Quit being so stupid and trying to blame others for which you have control, you’ll be better off in the long run.

Whew! Not finished; could discuss the lies perpetrated on the general public; but, I quit! Have better things to do with my life than trying to help those who want to hide their heads in the sand like an Ostrich!

By the way, ever wonder what happens to those who hide their heads in the sand and don’t see the Freight Train coming right up their backside?

NOT a pretty sight! Don’t be one! If you wake up and see the truth, you can be a part of the solution, rather than part of the problem and if you are part of the problem, HOW in the HELL can you look yourself in the mirror? Actually, a better question is, HOW in the HELL can you look your kids in the eye and perpetrate the lie, because that means YOU are lying to your kids! What kind of person are you, anyway?!

Comment by Mikhail

January 30th, 2010 at 10:58 pm

It is a great post i am sure that many people will definitely like it.

Comment by Ralph Nuis

February 11th, 2010 at 12:16 pm

Couldn’t agree with you more. He is not only ruining the US economy, but the entire western/world economy by just printing away the problem that started with the excessive amount of lending (which is the printing, as we all know, although just on a computer screen) anyway. How can anyone give him a ‘Man of the year’-award?! The only ‘logical’ explanation I can come up with, is that the Fed made more money in 2009 than ever before. Talking about hypocrites…

Greetings from The Netherlands, love this site. Stumbled upon it via Twitter (@Woningspace, which translates to Livingspace), I’ll keep coming back.

Comment by Brad Rundbaken

February 12th, 2010 at 9:12 am

http://trendocracy.blogspot.com/2010/02/when-bernanke-speaks-nobody-should.html

Comment by Barbara Fugate

February 12th, 2010 at 6:01 pm

Thank you, Jim S., for telling it like it is. Now I know I’m not crazy. It says somewhere in the Constitution,I believe, that when we find out the people we’ve put in office are making a mess we are obligated to fire them. Now, how do we do that? I’ve always thought they worked for us (the American People). Now I find out “they” think they own us and the country and refuse to answer to anyone. How do we show them the error of their ways ????

Comment by J. McCarthy

February 18th, 2010 at 8:41 pm

The Federal Reserve prints the money we work for and the Federal Government, States, Counties and City taxes everything we earn, buy and use. Think about the things that you actually own – and when I say own, I mean things that you don’t have to pay for on an on-going basis. A car? Try skipping the registration and license fee. A home? On the auction block if you don’t pay your property taxes. And that’s assuming you don’t have loans on them. When I add it all up, the things I truly own amount to a few clothes and some furniture and are worth considerable less than my credit card balances. Face it, we’re chattel.