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Federal Reserve Chief Bernanke Says Economy Getting Worse, Not Better
November 2, 2011

Consumers and Businesses holding onto their money

Speaking today in Washington, Ben Bernanke didn’t sugar-coat it.  The economy is

going to get tougher in 2012, and even worse in 2013, and  “acknowledging that it had once again overestimated the nation’s recovery from the 2008 financial crisis.”  Bernanke stated that the Federal Reserve would not take any more significant action to stem the recessionary state of the economy.  “the central bank already was pushing hard to spur growth and create jobs.” said Bernanke.

“We have taken a lot of actions,” Mr. Bernanke said at a news conference after the announcement. He added that Congress, by contrast, was not doing enough to pull the levers of fiscal policy. Lawmakers are gridlocked over a new jobs proposal from the White House, and a special bipartisan committee charged with reducing the deficit is struggling to reach agreement by Thanksgiving.

“I think it would be helpful if we could get assistance from other parts of the government to help create more jobs,” Mr. Bernanke said.

The central bank predicted that the economy would expand 2.5 percent to 2.9 percent in 2012, well below its June projection of 3.3 percent to 3.7 percent. For the following year, 2013, the Fed predicted growth of 3 percent to 3.5 percent, down from a range of 3.5 percent to 4.2 percent.

Congress Has More Vacation Days Than Work Days Left This Year

The unemployment rate, it predicted, would still be at least 8.5 percent at the end of 2012, at least 7.8 percent at the end of 2013 and at least 6.8 percent at the end of 2014. Such reductions probably would come in part from people abandoning the search for work, rather than those finding new jobs.

       


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Filed under: Economy, Featured, Inside The KC, Politics by Sonja Eddings Brown, Nov 2, 2011

2 Responses to “Federal Reserve Chief Bernanke Says Economy Getting Worse, Not Better
November 2, 2011”

  1. James Beebe, on November 2nd, 2011 at 7:08 pm Said:

    Well, given his record of underestimating, we are probably facing yet higher unemployment and even worse recession, especially if the current administration corruptly maintains power

  2. Sonja Eddings Brown, on November 2nd, 2011 at 8:17 pm Said:

    The country is desperate for someone to take the helm with the skills of business.