How much gold does Ben Bernanke own? How about Paul Krugman?
I bet both of them own quite a bit of gold. I bet both of them are hedging against economic collapse. I bet both of them, in the backs of their minds, know what we all know and are preparing for it. What do you think?
I think that this thread sucks and the only reason I’m responding to it is because I’m drunk.
But at any rate, Merry Christmas!!! 
I dont know but the Federal Reserve has 7,000 metric tons of gold
Merry Christmas to you too.
By the way, I really think that they believe what they preach!
That’s where you and I disagree. I don’t think you can teach that. I think these guys are hiding behind their professional reputations.
Look at Alan Greenspan. Do you think he just coincidentally retired before the economy collapsed? No way. He knew darn good and well that he had orchestrated the coming collapse, and he decided to get out fast and leave the mess to his successor. And when he got called before Congress to explain himself, he blamed the free market. If ever there was a lying piece of crap trying to hide his failures, it was Alan Greenspan.
And Bernanke and Krugman are the same way. Neither is going to stand up and say their entire careers were fraudulent. Neither is going to stand up and say they’ve been wrong for 40 years. But both of them know they’re wrong. Both of them have escape plans. Both of them will profit mightily when our economy collapses.
pathological liars 
That’s what I’m talking about.
the general case of this Mises forum trope is, “do the elite actually know Austrian economics, or do they really believe Keynesianism?”
i think the answer is, it doesn’t really matter for them. most people are accustomed to thinking of monetary policy in terms of whether it “works” or not, so they tend to assume central bankers consider things in a similar light. but i think they are focused on getting their goodies and telling the people what they want to hear. come to think of it, why would the issue of whether it “actually works” or not even cross their mind? they didn’t manage to beat out so many of their peers to win these high positions by caring about what is good for the masses.
I don’t think Bernanke or Krugman know Austrian economics, but I think they’re born with the same common sense as every other human. No matter how many years they study and teach and tell politicians what they want to hear, common sense tells them that money isn’t magic. I had that argument with my econ 102 professor when I was in college, and I don’t think he believed it any more than Bernanke and Krugman. I don’t think any of them believe it. I think they just follow the career path that goes up the ladder even though they know their position is baloney.
yeah i agree.. clearly, you will get much more positive attention and have a better reputation in the mainstream if you preach of a keynesian econ related school
How do you know that?
No. Greenspan is a notorious liar and opportunist (Ayn Rand made the same observation in the 60s). But Ben Bernanke is no Alan Greenspan; he’s a true believer. He’s spent his entire academic career learning about the deflation boogy man. As far as Krugman is concerned, he’s a true believer as well. Krugman likes to pretend that he’s some authority on trade cycle and monetary theory, when in fact, he’s just a trade economist (and used to be a good one at that). He’s become so ideological that you can’t really take him seriously (no serious person does anymore); he’s constantly supporting protectionism these days.
So to answer your question, I don’t believe that Bernanke and Krugman own gold; if anything, they own shares of Citi and Goldman Sachs.
Federal Resereve Bank of New York’s website
In the not too short term, we have a way of testing our theories: either Bernanke and Krugman will become destitute or they will profit through the collapse. I predict they profit. Are you predicting they go broke?
I think you haven’t come to terms yet with just how stupid people are. Ben Bernanke and Paul Krugman really do believe in what they preach. And yes, we do live in a world where, somehow, these two people are considered top economists.
I think Greenspan knew what was up. Ron Paul talks about this in END THE FED.
I’m not really sure what Krugman and Bernanke believe. Krugman has frequently expressed his interest in science fiction and grew up wanting to be a science fiction writer. He certainly found the right career path, because teaching economics at Princeton is pretty much the same thing. I think that these guys are so caught up in their models that they lose sense of what’s really going on in the real world. Using the Popperian method for economics allows anyone to basically create their own conspiracy in regards to economics. You literally can never be wrong using this method.
It’s unlikely for Krugman or Bernanke to come out and say, “I screwed up. Everything that I learned in school was wrong. Everything I said was wrong. My doctoral thesis was all wrong. Supply creates demand…etc.”
George Soros, a leftist, is likely a closet Austrian. He knows his stuff, but is determined to use his wealth to try to mold society where he plays God. He’s another science fiction fan.
I’m sure there are a lot of closet Austrians out there in government, academia, business…etc. It’s just in there personal self interest to promote bad economics so they can further their own careers.
What is it with these science fiction fans and economics?
well if you read some of krugman articles, he has written against rent control, he has criticized the minimum wage, and just recently, he has criticized unemployment benefits or an expansion on unemplyment benefits… so i believe he know economics, he just chooses to go the other route most of the time…