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60 Minutes, 03.15.09

March 15, 2009 4:00 PM

With the weight of the U.S. economy falling largely on his shoulders, Scott Pelley speaks with Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke; Lesley Stahl profiles Alice Waters and her "slow food" revolution; And, Andy Rooney on the era of newspapers.

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by Readtoknow March 21, 2009 9:22 AM EDT
Oldlady1204 has some very interesting and valid arguments for us, and we should consider them with great attention.
I noticed that Mr. Bernanke mentioned, at one point, that a great deal of money in the past 10-15 years had been coming into the US, without giving an explanation of how, why and where this money was coming from. The public should know what the sources of that money and the obligations that derive from it are.
Trust can only be given when and where it is deserved.
Paper money without collateral only leads to inflation of the "bursting bubble" . Haven't we just seen that with AIG?
Soon we could be on a par with the South American countries.
Keeping an eye on the currency exchange rate is also a thermometer for how our economy is progression/regressing.
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by oldlady1204 March 20, 2009 4:27 PM EDT
Scott Pelley needs to look a bit deeper. As Ann Pettifor, of the Huffington Post writes: "On March 15th, Governor Bernanke gave an unprecedented interview to CBS. In it he lit a fuse of 'anger' against AIG. And then he retreated from the fray. Surprisingly, he is not a target of public anger. Instead that anger is aimed at the president. This is an extraordinary turn of events, given a) that the Fed has a seat on the board of AIG; b) the Governor's personal share of responsibility for the chaos caused by AIG's reckless gambling these last seven years; and c) his responsibility for overseeing the US economy over the same period. How has the Fed Chairman managed to avoid being the prime target of public anger? First, let me remind you of the facts. Governor Bernanke served on the Academic Advisory Panel at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York from 1990-2002. In other words, Ben Bernanke was there as the Federal Reserve presided over, and, I would argue encouraged, the inflation of the biggest Credit Bubble in history. If he had challenged the dominant orthodoxy of the Fed at the time, then I vouch he would not have become a member of the Board of Governors of the Fed from 2002 to 2005. In June, 2005 he was appointed chairman of President Bush's Council of Economic Advisors. In 2006 he was appointed by President Bush as Governor of the Federal Reserve with these words: 'he is the right man to build on the record Alan Greenspan has established". In other words over the period 2002 to 2009, Governor Bernanke has had a key and highly influential role as one of the 'guardians of the nation's finances' on the board of the Federal Reserve. Over this same period, and under the watch of the Federal Reserve, AIG accumulated massive, and historically unprecedented liabilities -- a truly incomprehensible $62 trillion of liabilities. Regulators cheered on the 'innovation' of AIG's so-called 'swaps' (a term adopted to disguise the fact that CDSs are really just a form of non-collateralized insurance. Their nomenclature enabled them to dodge the 'asleep-at-the-wheel' regulator's radar). The Fed and other regulators assured us constantly that sophisticated Wall St. financial products 'diversified risk' -- and made us all safer. But, as Gillian Tett of the Financial Times has cogently argued, they did the very opposite. They concentrated the risks many banks were taking, in one financial institution -- AIG. Failing to understand the threat of this looming catastrophe was a major regulatory oversight. An oversight of historic proportions. An oversight that occurred on the watch of Ben Bernanke and other Federal Reserve governors. Given this context, let us consider the extraordinary interview the Fed Governor gave CBS last week. And let's remind ourselves: Fed Governors do not give TV interviews. When he breaks with all precedent and protocol, and goes public, then there can be no question. Something is up. We, the public, are being manipulated. So it was that very little spontaneity emerged from the Governor's interview?.? Not one word was mentioned about the ?who's, what's and where's? during the unprecedented interview. Not one question about Mr. Bernanke's part in this world crisis was asked by Mr. Pelley. Perhaps a follow-up is in order? Or, perhaps 60 Minutes / Mr. Pelley don't mind being played like Mr. Bernanke's personal sock-puppet..?
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by jean-hazel March 16, 2009 1:39 PM EDT
Please access further information about how to reform the Fed from the American Monetary Institute and their bill The American Monetary Reform Act at www.monetary.org

Watch Money as Debt at www.EthicalMarkets.tv
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by Barbud1 March 16, 2009 1:10 PM EDT
Being in the Financial field last year and this year has been dismale, we are getting blamed for this whole mess and many of us in the field are only the messagers of this mess. Mr. Bernanke has given us hope and at least a light at the end of the tunnel. It is time for the media and the republicans to realize that we need to come together, have
positive attitude to survive and Obama and Bernanke are the people who will lead us out.
His confidence and calm approach was refreshing, he projects a knowledge of knowing what to do and how to do it, just like Obama. The path is clear and we need to take it and
once and for all band together to show we can all make this work. 60 Minutes did a great job and I am glad we were able to hear from the Fed Chairman and ivory tower has fallen and may there be more communications to be shared.
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by zeitgeistmove March 16, 2009 11:07 AM EDT
www.thezeitgeistmovement.com The federal reserve perpetuates the monetary system. This system causes us to have scarcity and gives our entire society a perverse way of thinking. Lets take this time in history to redirect ourselves towards a new way!

The labor wage system was devised shortly after slavery was abolished in Europe, Why take care of your laborers and feed them if you can give them a wage and have them do that for themselves? In a world where robotics will alleviate labor all together a new system is needed and soon! Just watch this video, Robots move our money- Our products are made nearly 90% by robotics.
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by bluntfacts March 16, 2009 1:25 AM EDT
I don't agree with a lot of what the FED has done, but I tell people every single day that our system and our way of life MUST function. It has to. Ben gets just as pissed off as the rest of us when dealing with some of these companies. Desperate times require desperate measures. I have read more than a few comments that lambast the FED.

But...doing nothing is not an option.
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by SpringGirl41 March 16, 2009 1:00 AM EDT
The Secretary of Agriculture has already torn up a parking lot to plant a sustainable garden. Alice Waters prevails! My granddaughter's kindergarten class planted beans, herbs and tomatoes in a bit of land on their playground as well as each of them planting beans and squash in cups to grow at home. They had lots of success and cared for the plants, weeding and watering until the very last day of school. They were proud of all they had accomplished and enjoyed showing the grown ups around their special garden. Yes, schools should have vegetable gardens.
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by wiltswill March 15, 2009 10:13 PM EDT
Fascinating. It does appear we are in better hands today than during the Bush ride. There is a rumor that Hank Paulson did not have to pay tax on his $500 million he got from Goldman Sachs to become the Treasury Secretary. If that does not tell a tale I do not know what it does!
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