Ben Bernanke Quotes

We've got to get things done. We've got an economy that is stabilized, but not moving ahead.

Low interest rates are usually attributed to low inflation, weak economic growth and super easy monetary policy. But there's another deep-seated factor that doesn't get much attention: demographics.

The economy is like a machine.

It is a fact that, if I single out Germany, our rate of growth is too low and we have very high unemployment.

I think that over the last few decades, we have seen better economic outcomes than in the past.

Certainly, 9 percent unemployment and very slow growth is not a good situation.

The problem is that the economy isn't growing fast enough to accommodate the level of spending produced through the democratic process.

There's plenty of juice to keep this economy going.

The Keynesian belief that 'demand' is always at the root of underemployment and slow growth is a fallacy.

The bottom line of a successful economic policy is jobs.

Economic growth is based partly on reality and partly on perception.

What triggers recessions are abrupt drops in NGDP [Nominal Gross Domestic Product]. If NGDP grows too quickly, monetary policy is too loose. With too much money chasing each transaction, prices rise, and the result is inflation. If NGDP falls abruptly, on the other hand, monetary policy is too tight—there is no longer enough money to pay everyone who wants to work or to fund all the transactions that would otherwise take place, and the economy starts to contract.... removing several percentage points of expected NGDP growth will leave too little revenue to employ the existing work force at the wages they have negotiated. The result: rising unemployment.

The rich countries seem to need 5 or 6 percent unemployment to make the economy hum.

A growth economy is a must.

We now have the worst of both worlds – not just inflation on the one side or stagnation on the other side, but both of them together. We have sort of “stagflation” situation.

The history of economic growth is the history of people making more with less and shifting into new jobs that were unheard of in the previous generation.

Our economy, in order to grow, needs people to spend.

In America, innovation does not just improve our lives. It is the way we make our living.

There are two things that can disrupt the American economy. One is a war. The other is a meeting of The Federal Reserve Board.

Once upon a time, the U. S. economy grew in tandem with the productivity of American workers, leading to the creation of jobs and wealth across society. During the [21st] century’s first decade, however, this relationship no longer applied. GDP grew and productivity climbed, while job creation slowed to a crawl, median incomes fell—and the rich get richer.

Inflation is always and everywhere a monetary phenomenon in the sense that it is and can be produced only by a more rapid increase in the quantity of money than in output. ... A steady rate of monetary growth at a moderate level can provide a framework under which a country can have little inflation and much growth. It will not produce perfect stability; it will not produce heaven on earth; but it can make an important contribution to a stable economic society.

Clear rules for global relations create opportunities and incentives to innovate, invest and work--the critical drivers of economicv progress, History shows that the absense of a durable framework not only squanders untapped potential during good times, but also creates grave risks during turbulant times.

Whether a president can truly improve, or damage, an economy remains an open question.

The U.S. economy is the global economic driver. And within the U.S. economy, the U.S. consumer is the global driver.

The economy is my wheel house.