“Whatever it takes” That was Federal
Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s vow as the worst
financial panic in more than fifty years gripped the
world and he struggled to avoid the once unthinkable: a
repeat of the Great Depression. Brilliant but
temperamentally cautious, Bernanke researched and wrote
about the causes of the Depression during his career as
an academic. Then when thrust into a role as one of the
most important people in the world, he was compelled to
boldness by circumstances he never anticipated. The
president of the United States can respond instantly to
a missile attack with America’s military might, but he
cannot respond to a financial crisis with real money
unless Congress acts. The Fed chairman can. Bernanke
did. Under his leadership the Fed spearheaded the
biggest government intervention in more than half a
century and effectively became the fourth branch of
government, with no direct accountability to the
nation’s voters. Believing that the economic
catastrophe of the 1930s was largely the fault of a
sluggish and wrongheaded Federal Reserve, Bernanke was
determined not to repeat that epic mistake. In this
penetrating look inside the most powerful economic
institution in the world, David Wessel illuminates its
opaque and undemocratic inner workings, while revealing
how the Bernanke Fed led the desperate effort to prevent
the world’s financial engine from grinding to a
halt. In piecing together the fullest, most
authoritative, and alarming picture yet of this decisive
moment in our nation’s history, In Fed We Trust
answers the most critical questions. Among them: •
What did Bernanke and his team at the Fed know–and what
took them by surprise? Which of their actions
stretched–or even ripped through–the Fed’s legal
authority? Which chilling numbers and indicators made
them feel they had no choice? • What were they
thinking at pivotal moments during the race to sell Bear
Stearns, the unsuccessful quest to save Lehman Brothers,
and the virtual nationalization of AIG, Fannie Mae, and
Freddie Mac? What were they saying to one another when,
as Bernanke put it to Wessel: “We came very close to
Depression 2.0”? • How well did Bernanke, former
treasury secretary Hank Paulson, and then New York Fed
president Tim Geithner perform under intense pressure?
• How did the crisis prompt a reappraisal of the
once-impregnable reputation of Alan Greenspan? In
Fed We Trust is a breathtaking and singularly
perceptive look at a historic episode in American and
global economic history. From the Hardcover
edition.
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