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Econwatch
February 25, 2010 8:04 AM

Is Maxine Waters Really As Dumb As She Seems?

By
Jill Schlesinger
Topics
Financial Decoder

This post by Jill Schlesinger originally appeared on CBS' MoneyWatch.com.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke delivered his semi-annual testimony before the House Committee on Financial Services today. He pretty much said what was expected: the economy is recovering but still fragile; the job market is improving, but is still horrible; inflation is low now, but the Fed needs to keep an eye on it in the future. As a result, interest rates are likely to remain low for an "extended period."

All on script. But there was an interchange between one lawmaker and Bernanke that deserves your attention. Please watch this video of Congresswoman Maxine Waters - in it, she demonstrates that there is obviously NO intelligence requirement necessary to be named to the House Financial Services Committee.



Watch CBS News Videos Online

I actually pitied Bernanke as he attempted to remind Ms. Waters the difference between the discount rate and the fed funds rate. Doesn't she have anyone on her staff who could have prepped on the material? It's not as if these are difficult concepts.

The more Waters talked, the worse it got. These are the very people who think they are better equipped to want to be entrusted with auditing the Fed. Now that's a scary concept.

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(CBS)
Jill Schlesinger is the Editor-at-Large for CBS MoneyWatch.com. Prior to the launch of MoneyWatch, she was the Chief Investment Officer for an independent investment advisory firm. In her infancy, she was an options trader on the Commodities Exchange of New York.

  • Jill Schlesinger

    >> View all articles

    Jill Schlesinger, CFP®, is the Editor-at-Large for CBS MoneyWatch. She covers the economy, markets, investing or anything else with a dollar sign. Prior to the launch of MoneyWatch in 2009, Jill was the chief investment officer for an independent investment advisory firm. In her infancy, she was an options trader on the Commodities Exchange of New York.

Add a Comment See all 31 Comments
by Feydar August 1, 2010 1:21 PM EDT
All of the people making these "remarks" about Rep. Waters are clearly members of the "Tea Bag" party and it seems to be your party line to refute and ridicule anyone not meeting your complexion requirement. Rep Waters in the above video is clearly asking a question that has a direct effect on her constituents. If you are not able to see a concerned elected official seeking answers to a possible rate increase that may effect the people who elected her...Stop drinking the Kool Aid and use the intelligence you obtained in your 7 years of schoolin'
Reply to this comment
by labluewave March 23, 2010 12:24 PM EDT
Maxine Waters has been an embarrassment and a detriment for the longest time. Her now famous praise of Franklin Raines running of Fannie Mae should say enough to most folks.

Waters always looks to be an accuser or a finger pointer so that she can say to here constituants that she is their champion. Well, Waters is no champion. She championed the lending practices that led us to where we are. Her lines of questioning and clarifications in these exchanges are legendary and a constant source of something to laugh at.

California has Waters, Boxer, and Pelosi all as high ranking members of government. That is an SNL skit that could go on forever!
Reply to this comment
by Ryhmerock March 5, 2010 4:08 PM EST
the short answer is yes, but she's still smarter than Sheila Jackson Lee
Reply to this comment
by hateisafourletterword March 1, 2010 7:52 AM EST
Let us review.

Salary - over $130,000 per year
Health care - best in the USA
Travel - all paid for by taxpayers
Offices - 1 in D.C. and 2 in her district - paid for by us.
Staff - huge staff paid for by us
Pension - equal to her salary for life

Now, do you still call her stupid? Sounds brilliant to me.
Reply to this comment
by geewhillikers February 28, 2010 1:03 AM EST
Maxine Waters has always been dumber than the proverbial bag of rocks.
Behold the intellectual brainpower that our Congress puts in charge of our money. Do you really want someone like this in charge of your healthcare?

I would be laughing at this if the prospect of going bankrupt or dying wasn't on the line.

Cut the size of government now. Start HERE.
Reply to this comment
by POWinCA February 27, 2010 8:24 PM EST
Everyone knows that Maxine Waters is dumber than a house plant and I'm not going to defend her ignorance. She's been on Committee on Financial Services for years and if she doesn't know the difference between the Discount Rate and the Federal Funds Rate by now, she should be declared legally brain dead.

But her initial question related to MORTGAGE interest rates which she heard are expected to increase in the coming weeks. That is likely TRUE. The Federal Reserve is wrapping up its purchase program of Mortgage Backed Securities. Many analysts believe that upon conclusion of that program, mortgage rates will rise 30-50 basis points.

Bernanke CLEARLY understood her intent even if she was too stupid to articulate it. He is also the CORRECT person for her to be asking that question. He should have addressed her main concern about mortgage rates and the Fed's role in that instead of dragging a red herring in front of the Village Idiot.

He also LIED when he said that the Discount Rate is not a tool of monetary policy. It may not be the most important or effective tool, but it clearly has economic impact. Raising the Discount Rate would have some impact on national interest rates, including mortgage rates although he may be correct that the marginal impact is small.

We could continue and say that ARM resets are based on the 10YR-CMT or LIBOR so raising the discount rate would have little impact on holders of ARMs. Their biggest concern is the RECASTING to fully-amortizing payments, not marginal increases in interest rates.

So Waters needs to ride the short bus back to Lost Angeles and Bernanke needs to be scolded by Sarah Palin for teasing a retard.
Reply to this comment
by SeanNC64 February 27, 2010 2:41 PM EST
Oh no you di'in.

Dumb is a code word racists like you use in your racism against black people. Like using the word "professor" or driving a pick-up truck or demanding that our broke government stop spending money. It's all racism. See?

Yes I'm joking, but it wouldn't be that farfetched to hear a prominent black journalist or far left television talk show host call you a racist for saying that Maxine Waters is dumb. In fact I kind of expect to hear someone accuse you of racism because you singled out a black person and accuse them of being dumber than dirt. Which Maxine Waters definitely is. Still, she's black and that's racism to say she's dumb.
Reply to this comment
by DaveintheD August 30, 2011 6:03 PM EDT
Recognizing ignorance and/or stupidity is not "racist". Dumb is dumb. Look, imo, Bernanke embarrassed himself here as well. This was painful to watch. In the end, he was right. Rates have remained low, even hitting all-time lows recently. She wanted a "guarantee" that her contituents' rates wouldn't go up. And, as others have pointed out, she was also one who went to the wall to defend the system as it had been BEFORE the Crash, endlessly trashing anyone and everyone, including regulators, who dared call into question the health and viability of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. This video is like watching two 1st graders debate...one, the smart kid who makes stuff up as he goes along to fool the others, and the fool herself. Color a non-issue here except for the fact that Democrats have dumbed down the AA community over the last several decades to the point that many of them think Maxine has a clue.
by HowardBowman-MD February 27, 2010 2:25 PM EST
She is even dumber. I had the misfortune of being gerrymandered into her district in Los Angeles (after Bob Dornan lost)...I soon moved to a location where my elected representatives were smarter than dog droppings stuck to a shoe sole, and then moved completely out of California.

She is offensively stupid and arrogant. She revels in her stupidity and mediocrity. That she does manage to get re-elected is a sad commentary on the voters.
Reply to this comment
by mt kennedy February 27, 2010 1:15 PM EST
The only thing that Waters' constituents need to know about the Fed is that it keeps printing money. The rest, they could care less.
Reply to this comment
by nicmart February 27, 2010 11:22 AM EST
The last part about auditing the Fed is nonsense. Waters is probably opposed to it, and the actual auditing would be done by accountants, not by congressmen. The Audit the Fed effort is being led by Ron Paul, who is quite knowledgeable about economic matters -- far more so than establishment hack Jill Schlesinger.
Reply to this comment
by nicmart June 22, 2011 8:59 PM EDT
If writing skills reflect intellect, then Ms. Schlesinger is in no position to slander the kettle. She writes about a single congresswoman and then declares, "These are the very people who think they are better equipped to want to be entrusted with auditing the Fed." How did Maxine Waters become plural? If the Fed's actions were transparent they might be better understood by all Americans. As you say, though Ms. Schlesinger is a tool of the government-banking establishment.
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