…and inflation does not get into double digits in the next decade will the mainstream view Ben Bernanke as the saviour, that inherited Greenspan’s mess and avoided the great Depression II that everyone has expected? Will that be Bernanke’s legacy in 100 years when we look back at this era? The right man (student of deflation) for the right time (deflationary period)?
He is and will always be remembered as a dipshyt
His reputation will be better than Hank Paulson’s…
He will be considered “one of them”
He will no longer be remembered as “Helicopter Ben”
If November was the bottom then, yes, I do think history will reflect kindly on him. Plus, what really could he have done? I mean the economy basically went into free-fall once he took over, would it really wouldn’t be fair to blame him. I also recall him making early calls on a China savings glut (basically the counter-side of the US borrowing bubble) and I remember he made a surprisingly aggressive cut in '07 before the sh!t really hit the fan. He’s a student of the Great Depression and I imagine he’s put a lifetime of work into playing Monday morning quarterback with the early 1930s Fed and Gov’t response to the GD. So, maybe (once again), the US may just have the right man at the right time. Let’s wait and see… As for Paulson I don’t think history will treat his as kindly. Although, I’m starting to think that letting Lehman die wasn’t really as bad as the pundits have been saying. Imagine the amount the moral hazard that would result without at least one pure bank failure following a crisis of this magnitude.