Advertisement

Quantitative easing for -- or is it by? -- dummies

Share

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

The Federal Reserve was having enough trouble with its image before it launched its latest attempt to bolster the economy, the $600-billion bond-buying program known as quantitative easing, or QE.

World leaders haven’t taken too kindly to the plan, which they fear will drive down the value of the U.S. dollar. And some Republican economists and lawmakers now are focusing their fire on the central bank as well, as Tom Petruno blogged last night.

Advertisement

This is all deadly serious, of course, with the fate of the U.S. and world economies potentially in the balance. But that doesn’t mean some people can’t try to get a few laughs out of it.

This video offers a funny -- though clearly anti-Fed -- explanation of what Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke and his colleagues are up to as they launch QE2. (Warning: the adorable-looking characters let loose with two expletives not commonly associated with central bankers, at least until the financial crisis began.)

The PG-13 video takes about 30 seconds to get rolling. But when these guys start diving into the details in their odd, computer-generated monotone (including mispronouncing Bernanke’s name), it gets pretty hilarious -- and/or depressing, depending on your point of view.

-- Jim Puzzanghera

Advertisement