The testimony before the House today showed a very collegial relationship between Bernanke and Paulson as they alternately answered questions and swatted down attacks. Their explanations stuck to the plan, specifically Paulson's Blueprint, as they repeatedly mentioned that Congress would need to reform financial regulation as well as grant new powers.
Most startling to our vision of a man who strikes thoughtful-yet-maniacal poses while dramatically lit, Bernanke declined control of any resolution regime. He said that the Treasury Department would be the most appropriate supervisor of a resolution regime because of the fiscal implications of a financial firm's collapse.
The bald pair used the questions to advance the agenda. Paulson said that some abuses wouldn't have existed if the US had a single regulator devoted to consumer and retail investor protection instead of the current multitude of regulatory bodies and their scattered remits.
Bernanke backstopped Paulson's position with supporting comments, saying that he would be happy to help reform efforts if the current Congress had the appetite for it. He advocated a single consolidated regulator for risk management and other operations within financial firms, reflecting that the information sharing between Fed and SEC was a stopgap that Congress should improve upon. Paulson said the same, mentioning that the Fed should gain that oversight.
Bernanke also stated his enthusiasm for covered bonds, saying that the FDIC was clarifying the rules on collateral that should enable their widespread acceptance. We expected the hearing to end with Ben leaning over and whispering, one bald man to another, "The beard's got your back."
--Senior Beard 'n Bald correspondent Andrew
Posted by guest , Jul 10, 2008 2:24PM
Why is it that 99% of the time bald men are more intelligent than their hairy counterparts?
Posted by guest , Jul 10, 2008 2:34PM
I see that Blythe Masters from JPM got named to the panel to recommend ways to revive US securitzied debt markets.
I worked with her at JPM and she is smart as hell and smoking hot...need to get carney or bess working on some sort story that gets some blythe eye candy going here...
Posted by StMarc , Jul 10, 2008 3:06PM
2:24: They're not. It's just that like beards, tweed jackets and pipes, we're culturally conditioned to think that baldness is associated with intelligence and wisdom, especially if the person also has a beard, a tweed jacket, and a pipe. A person with all four of these plus glasses would theoretically be the smartest person on the planet.
M
Posted by Johnny , Jul 10, 2008 3:32PM
@2:34
You ARE joking about Blythe being a hottie, right?
Posted by General Zod , Jul 10, 2008 3:33PM
Watching today's testimony, something was nagging at me. Bernanke was reminding me of someone and I couldn't figure out who. Then it hit me: Emperor Palpatine.
Posted by guest , Jul 10, 2008 3:51PM
@2:34 - If she is, she doesn't photograph well.
Posted by guest , Jul 10, 2008 4:05PM
@3:32 No, I'm not. In person she it very, very sexy. Jamie's quite fond of her as well...
Posted by Johnny , Jul 10, 2008 4:09PM
Can i get a drumroll for this one...
Posted by guest , Jul 10, 2008 4:10PM
"A person with all four of these plus glasses would theoretically be the smartest person on the planet."
LOL
Posted by Johnny , Jul 10, 2008 4:11PM
"That's not saying much, cuz Jamie would stick it to a Bear!!"
God, i kill myself. Please, no autograuphs...
Posted by guest , Jul 10, 2008 4:28PM
Sean Connery to replace Bernanke (Connery has a pipe, known to wear glasses frequently)
Posted by StMarc , Jul 10, 2008 5:49PM
Zod:
With all due respect, General, that position is currently filled by the Bishop of Rome. Although he caught merry Hell for it, I about lost it laughing when Jeph Jacques referred to him by saying "I knew that Emperor-Palpatine-lookin'-motherfucker was up to no good."
M
Posted by guest , Jul 10, 2008 5:53PM
Appropos of nothing, Sean Connery now mumbles because of false teeth.
Paulson and Bernanke are what passes as leadership in the twilight of the Bush Administration.
I could get all worked up about them, except Paulson will be gone shortly, and Bernanke's term expires in the next year or so. I wonder if the new president is going to reappoint him?
George W. Bush is just unfortunate enough to have the economic equivalent of Hurricane Katrina hit in the last year of his term. Cheney doesn't seem to be interested in the economic scene, so Paulson has the turf all to himself.
By the way, the relatively small federal bureaucracies with limited mandates don't seem to be doing all that well. Why is the remedy an enormous federal bureaucracy with a wide-sweeping mandate? Mega-agencies were the rage in NYC in the 70s; ask Mayors Beame and Koch how it all worked out.
Posted by StMarc , Jul 10, 2008 6:00PM
"You will find that although government does not do large things efficiently, when it comes to small things, it doesn't do them efficiently either."
M
Posted by guest , Jul 10, 2008 6:39PM
Government is the thin buffer between those who would take advantage of you by sheer force and Investment Bankers.