Ben Bernanke needs to change direction. His Fed has already committed to an exceptionally low federal funds rate at least into 2013 and perhaps into 2014.
But the chairman needs to begin thinking about when the Fed starts increasing the funds rate and shrinking its balance sheet.
President Obama or a new president will know he and a new Congress have 2013 to implement a set of fiscal reforms, entitlement restructurings and regulatory policies that can move the U.S. toward faster growth, higher employment and sustainable fiscal ratios before the Fed starts to take away the monetary punch bowl. Read more or maybe read the Constitution to see if there’s anything mentioned in there about a Federal Reserve!