washingtonpost.com
Ben S.
Bernanke Profile
Monday,
November 14, 2005;
On Monday, Oct. 24, 2005, President Bush
nominated Ben S. Bernanke, chairman of the president's
Council of Economic Advisers, to succeed Federal Reserve
Chairman Alan Greenspan when he retires in January. Read
the complete text of the president's announcement of the
nomination.
Biography:
WASHINGTON
-- Five years ago, Ben Bernanke posed the prescient
question in an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal,
"What Happens When Greenspan is Gone?"
President Bush answered on Monday: Replace Federal
Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan with Bernanke, a
straight-talking Ivy League economist with a reputation
for eschewing political ideology.
In the world of economic theory and policy, Bernanke, 51,
has espoused targeting inflation, stressed the importance
of communication and transparency by the Fed and argued
that the final say on debts and deficits lies with the
president and Congress.
Born in Georgia and raised in Dillon, S.C., Bernanke was
an academic star. In sixth grade, he won the state
spelling bee but missed higher acclaim when he faltered
on the word "edelweiss," a flower. He got a
score of 1,590 on his SAT out of a possible 1,600, taught
himself calculus in high school and then focused on
economic numbers at Harvard.
After graduating summa cum laude from the Ivy League
university in 1975, Bernanke continued his studies at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he received
his doctorate four years later. His focus during his
years in Boston were the underpinnings of the Great
Depression and the losing ways of the city's beloved
baseball team, the Red Sox.
The former was his field of study; the latter an
obsession he eventually shed. A Washingtonian of late,
Bernanke recently switched his allegiance to the
capital's baseball team, the Nationals.
He was an economics professor at Stanford and chaired the
department at Princeton.
When he was sworn in as chairman of the president's
Council of Economic Advisers in June, Bernanke was
serving on the board of governors of the Federal Reserve
System.
He has written numerous books and articles, some focusing
on his idea of targeting inflation, in other words coming
up with a specific level -- around 2 percent -- over a
specific time period -- about two years.
It was a theory he put forth in his Wall Street Journal
editorial looking beyond Greenspan, which he wrote along
with Frederic S. Mishkin and Adam S. Posen:
"The Fed needs an approach that consolidates the
gains of the Greenspan years and ensures that those
successful policies will continue -- even if future Fed
chairmen are less skillful or less committed to price
stability than Mr. Greenspan has been."
(Source:
Associated Press)
.
Reactions
to Bernanke nomination:
"Ben
Bernanke is the right man to build on the record Alan
Greenspan has established." -- President George W.
Bush
"The president has made a distinguished appointment
in Ben Bernanke. Ben comes with superb academic
credentials and important insights into the ways our
economy functions. I have no doubt that he will be a
credit to the nation as chairman of the Federal Reserve
Board." -- Alan Greenspan, chairman of the Federal
Reserve
"I am hopeful that Dr. Bernanke will provide the
steady hand our nation needs to continue to grow the
economy and recover and rebuild from the recent Gulf
Coast hurricanes. If confirmed, he follows in the
footsteps of the able Alan Greenspan, whose leadership
has helped guide America's economic policy for 18 years
now. This is an important job. By moving so quickly to
nominate Chairman Greenspan's successor, President Bush
is showing that strengthening the economy so that
Americans can have better jobs and better lives is a
priority for us all. I urge the Senate to move quickly to
give this nomination an up or down vote." -- House
Speaker Dennis Hastert of Illinois
"I believe he will monitor and implement U.S.
monetary policy that will ensure a strong domestic
economy and maintain America's global
competitiveness." -- Senate Republican Leader Bill
Frist of Tennessee
"It will be important that Mr. Bernanke demonstrate
that he is committed to guiding the economy to produce
results for all Americans rather than promoting partisan
policies that benefit special interests and an elite
few." -- Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid of
Nevada
"I am confident that this nominee will be thoroughly
questioned but also well-received by all members of our
committee." -- Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.),
chairman of the Senate Banking Committee
"We need a careful, non-ideological person who
understands that the Federal Reserve's main job is to
fight inflation and Ben Bernanke seems to fit that
bill." -- Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.),
highest-ranking Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee
"His previous service on the Fed's board of
governors under Greenspan has provided him invaluable
preparation for this critical role and his steady hand
and solid judgment should serve our financial markets
well." -- Marc Lackritz, president, Securities
Industry Association
"Chairman Greenspan's success was that
people had confidence in him. .... Now, the most
important thing for Ben Bernanke to do is to build on
that confidence and that credibility. " -- Sen.
Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), chairman of the Senate Committee
on Finance
"We need an independent voice, free from political
influence and interference, who will speak the truth to
policy-makers in Washington. At a time when the number of
Americans without health insurance, gas prices and
education costs are skyrocketing, and wages aren't
keeping pace, it's time for some common sense." --
Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.)
©
2005 Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive
to Transcript of Hearing November 15,
2005
.
Earlier Date Reply Archive Return
to TIEA.us
|
