Bernanke: Ben Bernanke needs to return to the Federal Reserve with fresh ideas — and perhaps a dose of contrition. Don’t expect a radical shift. But the 70-30 Senate vote giving him a second term at the head of the US central bank showed an unusual level of dissent. That just might encourage some adjustments.
Bernanke hasn’t been eager to admit that the Fed's loose monetary policy played a part in the credit bubble and subsequent crunch. Instead, he has blamed weak regulation. As for keeping rates low, the Fed has claimed it needed to head off a deflationary threat that now seems to have been more perceived than real.
The Fed’s policy wonks may quietly be shifting away from the contention of Alan Greenspan, Bernanke’s predecessor, that the central bank shouldn't even try to deflate asset price bubbles. But a more public admission that the Fed kept interest rates too low would be welcome. And a pledge to take on obvious bubbles could enhance Bernanke’s credibility now that the time to lift interest rates can't be far off.
He needs that boost in standing. Even Paul Volcker in 1983 only had 16 senators object to his reappointment at the helm of the Fed, despite the fact his tough monetary policy had helped push America into a recession.
What’s left of the Fed's independence from political pressure is also at stake. Bernanke has gone along with expensive bailouts orchestrated by the Bush and Obama administrations without much demur.
He may have believed that was for the best, but he could now stake out a less malleable-looking position for the Fed by, for example, speaking out in favor of aggressive reductions in government deficits as the economy recovers.
Bernanke has advocated the central bank getting even more regulatory authority — but he could ease off that tack if it looks like it will come with costs to the Fed's autonomy, such as audits of monetary policymaking. Standing up for the independence of the central bank’s policymakers is more important than becoming a super-regulator.
