Ben Bernanke defends bailouts, easy money policies

With his tenure as Federal Reserve chairman winding down, Ben Bernanke once again defended his record in steering the central bank through the financial crisis of 2008 and the ensuing prolonged recession at an event at the Brookings Institution Thursday morning.

Echoing the words of former Rep. Barney Frank, Bernanke said the TARP bailout for financial firms that he advocated in 2008 was “one of the most successful policies ever” despite its unpopularity, then and now. During the congressional debate over TARP, Bernanke recalled, one senator told him that “calls on this from my constituents are 50-50. It’s 50 percent no and 50 percent hell no.”