Lampooning Bernanke

Earlier this month I threatened to lampoon Federal Reserve Governor Ben Bernanke's speech about the gold standard and the Great Depression.

I've decided not to lampoon it — not because it doesn't deserve it, but because someone else has already done the job. And quite well, too, despite an uncomfortable lack of pirate humor.

Spake thusly the Mogambo Guru (he gets to the Bernanke speech about halfway through the rant):

Now we start getting into the really weird stuff. He admits "The gold standard appeared to be highly successful from about 1870 to the beginning of World War I in 1914. During the so-called 'classical' gold standard period, international trade and capital flows expanded markedly, and central banks experienced relatively few problems ensuring that their currencies retained their legal value." So it worked well! So something happened, he says, between 1914 and the Depression.

He does not admit, however, that the newly formed Federal Reserve system, in operation for fifteen short years, had anything to do with subsequent calamitous economic events. The simultaneous appearance of these two things were, I suppose, merely a, you know, huge coincidence or something.

It's very long, but very amusing, at least by the standards of economic humor. Which are a dismal as everything else in the science. Which is why I love it.

Now if you'll excuse me, I need to "Arrr&hellip" softly as I run my fingers through a pile of gold coins for a wee bit, and then I need to hunt for more leprechauns. The trick is to realize that pirate swords make fine dowsing rods — and that the little guys are right curious to see a demonstration. Arrr, it's too easy!