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 would be very concerning for financial markets and, I think, for the general public if the United States didn't pay its bills.

Right now our concern is that the Chinese currency policy is blocking what might be a more normal recovery process in the global economy, and it is to an extent hurting our recovery.

Yes, my suggestion to Congress is to consider possibilities that involve somewhat less restraint in the near term and more action to make sure that we are on a sustainable path in the long run.

A default by the U.S. Government would be extremely disruptive.

As I have said many times, I think that fiscal policy is focusing a bit too much on the short run, and not enough on the long run.

I agree with your analysis of GSEs.

Privatization would solve several problems associated with the current GSE model. It would eliminate the conflict between private shareholders and public policy and likely diminish the systemic risk, as well. Other benefits are that…

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

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

GSE-type organizations are not essential to successful mortgage financing. Indeed, many other industrial countries without GSEs have achieved homeownership rates comparable to that of the United States. One device that has been widely used…

Our mission as set forth by the Congress is a critical one: to preserve price stability; to foster maximum sustainable growth in output and employment; and to promote a stable and efficient financial system that serves all Americans well…

I would argue that it is not responsible to focus all of the restraint on the very near term and do nothing about the long term.

Congress sets the mandate for the Federal Reserve, and so Congress has the right to set the mandate of course any way it likes.

It's no way to run a railroad.

The political challenge is to figure out how to do that.

Finding a way to deal with that issue I think is the most challenging part but has the biggest payoff.

I think it is consistent with our mandate and with our current policy to maintain price stability, and that is what we have been achieving.

My concern is about defaulting on the debt, and for me that is a very high priority so a debt prioritization bill would help on that count very much.

If we are really interested in growing the economy, what we need to do is demonstrate that we can govern.

forcing these activities out of insured depository institutions would weaken both financial stability and strong prudential regulation of derivative activities.

We all agree that the burden of regulation falls particularly heavily on small community banks which don't have the resources to manage those regulations very effectively.

The Congress and the Administration should consider replacing the sharp, front-loaded spending cuts required by the Sequestration with policies that reduce the federal deficit more gradually in the near-term, but more substantially in the…

an increasing share of losses have arisen from prime mortgages that were originally fully documented with significant downpayments, but have defaulted due to the weak economy and housing markets.

We all agree that the burden of regulation falls particularly heavily on small community banks which don't have the resources to manage those regulations very effectively.