Chasing the Economy

Ben Bernanke’s brother, Seth Bernanke, runs a workers’ comp law practice in Charlotte, N.C.  His most recent blog entry notes that “approximately 30 percent of the American public has chronic pain … and the public needs to better understand how important this is …”
 
Brother Ben noted in his speech this morning that the “slow (economic) recovery has caused some to question whether the United States … (might) now be facing a prolonged period of stagnation.”
 
It appears the Bernanke brothers have an occupational hazard in common:  the temptation to chase ambulances.
 
I don’t know how often Seth finds himself making a knee-jerk decision to take on a plaintiff for the sake of billable hours. But if you are trying to assess Ben’s ability to withstand making a superficial decision when an entire country is worried about a double-dip recession, you don’t have to look much further than his non-committal, Melba toastesque comments he made today. Instead of caving to pressure, Ben said essentially nothing, and nothing is exactly what the market wanted to hear.
 
Clearly, Ben is trying not to pay too much attention to the flashing lights.  You go, Ben.  But like your brother, you will eventually have to make a decision about whether the latest spate of economic woes is worth the chase.

 

— Evan Pondel, epondel@pondel.com