Somehow, this line passed without ridicule at the WSJ. Maybe Mr. Bernanke missed it, but his independent Fed gave us the largest financial and economic crisis since the Great Depression. Does anyone really think that things would have been worse if the Fed had been more accountable? Last fall, Mr. Bernanke told Congress that the Fed's policies had led to a situation in which the economy would completely collapse if it did not immediately approve $700 billion in loans for the banks. It is hard to imagine greater instability than what the Fed brought about with its current level of independence from Congress.
--Dean Baker
