[Porsche-O-Phile]

It's only going to get worse. . . Hate to be the pessimist but I think we're headed into a full-blown prolonged recession with high inflation rates just like what happened in the 1980s, and I think Bernanke is simply looking at what happened before and trying to do what he can to mitigate the effects (that IS the guy's job, isn't it?) If memory serves, the 80s recession was right on the heels of the highest energy prices in history (the "energy crunch" of the 1970s) and an unprecedented real estate market collapse.

What's that line about those not remembering history being condemned to repeat it?

Difficult times - inflation is definitely going up, wages are stagnant, the economy is slowing, we have record levels of debt load (both personal and corporate AND government) and less and less manufactured goods here in the good old USA. I wouldn't want to be Bernanke - he's probably just hoping that history doesn't pin the coming storm on him and his leadership. . .