“The winner is -- the winner is Ben Bernanke, the chairman of the Federal Reserve. The most powerful, least-understood government force shaping our lives.” (MSNBC)
Time Magazine named Bernanke its Person of the Year for 2009. Why did they choose him? Time explains.
“The classic criteria for Person of the Year is that person or that thing who has most influenced the news during the past year for good or for ill... Given the balance of what he has done both positive and negative he really has been in a way an overlord of the economy and a symbol of all that has gone on this year with the economy this year.”
The announcement is spurring debate in the media and critics are questioning if he is responsible for saving the U.S. from entering another Great Depression or if he was part of the problem, or both….
The media is also wondering what Bernanke will do next.
We have perspectives from MSNBC, TIME, FOX News, CNN, and Foreign Policy Magazine.
On MSNBC’s Morning Joe, Congressman Ron Paul says Bernanke is nothing special, just a product of the system.
“The big question, has he used that power for good or evil? My side of the argument is the system is evil, and the chairman, whether it's Greenspan or Bernanke, they can do no good. They cause our troubles, they cause the inflation, they cause the bubbles, and therefore, the bust, the correction, is always their fault.“
An analyst on FOX News says Bernanke helped the economy get back on track.
“Yes, Bernanke definitely did help. He was one of the two people really saved the financial system. In my opinion, that's Henry Paulson and it's Ben Bernanke.”
But CNN says Bernanke’s toughest jobs lie ahead, and so does his real proving ground.
“T.A.R.P. $6.4 trillion is what he has pushed into the economy or promised to push into the economy. And now he has got to unwind that and not cause another financial crisis as they unwind it. And that's what they're doing at the Fed right now, talking very, very carefully about how they'll do that.”
Foreign Policy Magazine released a list of the top 100 Global Thinkers and atop the list was Ben Bernanke. They give him credit for turning things around so fast.
“The Zen-like chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve might not have topped the list solely for turning his superb academic career into a blueprint for action, for single-handedly reinventing the role of a central bank, or for preventing the collapse of the U.S. economy. But to have done all of these within the span of a few months is certainly one of the greatest intellectual feats of recent years.”
So what do you think? Is Bernanke the person of the year? If not, who would you vote for?
