Krugman is Wrong on Bernanke

He has come out in favor of Ben Bernanke being reappointed as Chairman of the Federal Reserve.

Krugman's argument is that Bernanke has been largely successful and effective in his efforts in battling the recession.

There are a number of other notables, such as Nouriel Roubini and Mark Thoma, who agree with Krugman, while Joseph Stiglitz and Calculated Risk suggests that his replacement be seriously considered, and Anna Jacobson Schwartz unequivocally calls for his removal.

Fundamentally, they base this decision on his performance, and it is reasonable to say that each of them have a better grasps of the details of this performance, but it misses the bigger picture: That both as an economy and as a democracy, the United States cannot afford to have another "Rock Star" Fed Chair.

The time of Alan "Bubbles" Greenspan has conclusively demonstrated that.

Ex-performance, the main argument for keeping Bernanke is that not doing so would be too disruptive, and it is the one most frequently made.

This fact demands his replacement at the end of his term.

The issue is not economics, nor his performance, but that a world in which an almost completely unaccountable figure is deemed crucial is simply not acceptable.