Ben Bernanke Quotes

The idea of confidence, of the emotions of the population, is an incredibly important one in economics. John Maynard Keynes called it 'animal spirit.' And if people are feeling generally good about the future, they're more likely to spend money, to start new companies; companies are more likely to hire people, make investments.

Now, walking in the streets, people seem to have become richer and more willing to consume. It seems like everybody is ushering in a better future. This has given me great satisfaction and driven me to do more.

A lot of people got a lot of money around Kansas City, Missouri. If we didn't, KC Trends would be out of business.

In a speech at the just-concluded G20 summit in London, President Obama urged Americans not to let their fears crimp their spending. It would be unwise, he argued, for Americans to let the fear of job loss, lack of savings, unpaid bills, credit card debt or student loans deter them from making major purchases. According to the president, 'we must spend now as an investment for the future'....instead of saving for the future, we must spend for the future.

If you're going to grow the economy, if people are going to have more income, you have to have stability in the marketplace.

When I had money, I felt pressure, whether it was to invest it or do good with it, and I couldn't let it fizzle out. It was like I needed to prove to myself that I could look after it, only I did the opposite, but you have to take a chance in life.

When you - when you - and this is still going on today - are making your money by pushing paper around, when you should be making your money by investing venture capital in various job-creating things, that makes it much harder to recover.

Some say the economy means that you have to persuade people to invest in clothes - to buy less things but more expensive things. I disagree - invest in jewelry, or a house, maybe, but not in fashion.

Americans like to get rich fast. That this means we go broke fast, too, is something that we have become very good at forgetting. Our ignorance of history is matched only by our unfailing optimism; it's actually part of our optimism.

I have no agenda at all. I just want to do stuff I like. It can cost $200 million or $200 thousand.

You have to spend a lot to make a lot. It's not like I'm sitting on top of a pile of money.

Anything that gets people to think harder about their financial security and take some responsibility is a good thing.

I am absolutely a free marketeer and I believe the creation of wealth is a good thing and anyone who doesn't really needs to have their head examined - otherwise where are we going to get the schools, the roads, the universities, the third runway, dare I say it?

The person earning the federal minimum wage of $7.25 isn't going out to eat at restaurants. They're not taking piano lessons. They're not going to the gym or the yoga studio. They're not sending mom flowers on Mother's day. What good is this person in the economy? If you raise it to $15 an hour, they're doing all of those things.

It is not just disposable income but whether people feel good about their immediate future that drives sales. It is this feel-good factor that drives the purchases more and more than mere economic wealth.

Being rich is a good thing. Not just in the obvious sense of benefitting you and your family, but in the broader sense. Profits are not a zero sum game. The more you make, the more of a financial impact you can have.

Investment will lead to employment; employment means better income; it means selling more cars.

I don't know the time frame exactly, but it's clear they're all going to want to start spending money again.

It would be fun to have someone in the White House who has worked in the private sector... and someone who understands that wealth creation is a good thing and they want more of it. Wealth is good.

We have been blessed with a healthy, growing economy, with more Americans going back to work, and with our Nation acting as a positive force for good in the world.

One day we are a hero, another day we are a zero. Without me, Cardiff would have gone bust. Because of my investment, we got promoted.

I believe wealth should be in the hands of those who know how to create more wealth.

For me, the risks in terms of opening that brewpub were fairly high. I put my house up as collateral, I invested the liquid money I had and two years of my time to get it over, but that's really not much of a risk for what the potential reward was if it worked.

Men are seldom more innocently employed than when they are making money.

We have no intention of downsizing the American Dream.