The Fed's easy-money extension is a short-term band-aid

Buying $85 billion in bonds for a few more months won't exactly cure what ails us

Ben Bernanke
(Image credit: Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve shook up global markets by... well, essentially, doing nothing new. Chairman Ben Bernanke, true to his "Helicopter Ben" sobriquet, announced that the Fed would continue, full steam ahead, with its $85 billion-a-month quantitative easing program. Just about everyone had expected Bernanke to say the Fed was starting its long-awaited bond-buying "taper."

The reason the Federal Reserve will continue buying up $45 billion worth of Treasury paper and $40 billion in mortgage-backed securities each month, at least for now, is that the economy isn't recovering fast enough, especially on the employment front. And why is that? "In a word, Congress," says The Week's Carmel Lobello. Yes, "because Congress is horrible," agrees Neil Irwin at The Washington Post.

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.