West Burlington IA News-Sports-Opinion

The Chairman of the Federal Reserve went before Congress last week, set aside his rose-colored glasses, dispensed with most of his sugar-coated platitudes and made some hard-hitting statements about the U.S. economy.

Bernanke on jobs:

“This is the worst labor market since the Great Depression.”

Bernanke on housing:

“The market remains weak, with the overhang of vacant or foreclosed houses weighing on home prices and construction.”

Bernanke on fears about the future:

“Most … viewed uncertainty about the outlook for growth and unemployment as greater than normal, and the majority saw the risks to growth as weighted to the downside.”

Bernanke on tight credit for small businesses:

“Bank loans outstanding have continued to contract. Small businesses, which depend importantly on bank credit, have been particularly hard hit.”

And never forget: All this is coming from a man whose job invariably makes him extremely reluctant to admit to negative trends in any sector at any time — if Bernanke is saying things are bad, you can bet your bottom dollar they’re actually far worse.

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