Today's Read - Austerity Bites Edition

Neil Irwin sums up today's Congressional testimony by Fed Chair Ben Bernanke:

Ben Bernanke testifies before Congress today for the first time in three months, and the Federal Reserve chairman has a message for lawmakers: You’re the reason the economy isn’t taking off more.

Of course, Bernanke is too polite to phrase things quite so bluntly. But to anyone versed in Fedspeak, that’s the gist of his message. Even as state and local governments are becoming less of a drag on growth, Bernanke says in his prepared testimony before the Joint Economic Committee, “fiscal policy at the federal level has become significantly more restrictive.”

Whether Bernanke acknowledges it or not, Rethuglicans are fully aware that the austerity policies they've been foisting (often with the foolish acquiescence or outright promotion by the White House and rudderless Dems) are holding the economy back.  Why would this crop of bone-stupid, nihilist Rethuglicans want a healthy economy when their only goal is to discredit this Administration in particular and Democratic stewardship in general?  How does a healthy economy achieve that end? 

Headline of the Day

"Heroic Arsonist Puts Out Own Fire." -- from the Huffington Post. They're referring to Federal Reserve Chair Ben "Banker Buddy" Bernanke, Time Magazine's "Person of the Year" and one of the key officials that was asleep at the switch as the financial industry slowly but surely started in a disastrous downward spiral last year. Banker Buddy assured bank executives that the subprime mortgage scam wouldn't affect their profitability a couple of years ago, as defaults on escalating mortgages rose. The Senate Banking Committee just voted to approve a new term for Bernanke, with the full Senate confirmation vote coming next month.

Which all goes to prove that in D.C., some will always be absolved from the consequences of their misjudgements and poor performance.