Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke gave a speech in Dallas yesterday where he inadvertently discredited claims that ObamaCare would reduce health care costs and the federal deficit. According to The Washington Post:
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke warned Wednesday that Americans may have to accept higher taxes or changes in cherished entitlements such as Medicare and Social Security if the nation is to avoid staggering budget deficits that threaten to choke off economic growth…
While the immediate audience for the speech was the Dallas Regional Chamber, his message was intended for Congress and the Obama administration…
Bernanke has urged Congress to address long-term fiscal imbalances in congressional testimony before, but usually only when he is asked about them by lawmakers. His speech Wednesday aimed to reach a broader audience, steering away from technical economic speak and using plain, sometimes wry, language — a rare thing for a Fed chairman.
The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office projects the annual federal deficit will be at least $700 billion in each of the next 10 years. Deficit spending is a form of taxation without representation, because it increases the tax burden of generations who cannot yet vote (often because they are as yet unborn). Bernanke wants us to end deficit spending. Kudos to him.
But consider the timing of his speech. Why wait until April 7, 2010, to deliver that message directly to the public? Why not give that speech in January? Or February? Or any time before March 21?
The reason is obvious: Bernanke held back to appease his political masters.