Dallas speech

I guess he thinks the coming fiscal spending will close the output gap…

Cash Crunch Will Force Governments to Do Less

By Gerald F. Seib

April 9 (WSJ)

In a speech in Dallas, Mr. Bernanke bluntly noted that two giant fiscal waves were headed for the federal government, one atop the other. First comes the big deficit caused by the economic downturn. That will be followed immediately by ballooning costs for baby-boom retirees drawing Social Security and Medicare funds. “To avoid large and unsustainable budget deficits, the nation will ultimately have to choose among higher taxes, modifications to entitlement programs such as Social Security and Medicare, less spending on everything else from education to defense, or some combination of the above,” Mr. Bernanke