Ben Bernanke: “Monetary policy can't do much about longer-term growth.”

The economy needed help from Congress--if not from additional spending (on roads and bridges for example), then at least in areas such as retraining unemployed workers.

Our goals are Main Street, our goals are jobs, our goals are low inflation.

The crisis was an enormous waste of resources, and unsafe practices by large financial institutions pose a risk not just to themselves but to the rest of society.

It is also important, of course, for community banks to be well-capitalized so that they can continue to lend during difficult periods.