Ben Bernanke is arguably the most powerful man in the world.  He controls the cost of money.  When you control the cost of money, i.e. interest rates, you control the evaluation of all assets measured by that currency. He has furthered his powers ala the emergency in the crisis of 2008.  He has ignored portions of the Federal Reserve mandate and created his own, all without concern or oversight from the elected representatives of the country. What is often referred to as the "dual mandate" is actually three parts.  #1 pursuit of maximum employment, #2 stable prices, and #3 moderate long-term interest rates Mr. Bernanke has chosen to ignore the third mandate of moderate interest rates. That mandate was included in the mission statement for specific purposes. The wisdom of this guidance seems to have been ignored. Moderate interest rates give value to the currency thus defending its stature. Moderate interest rates encourage savings and thus buffer against...(Read Full Post)