Blame Bernanke for retirees’ woes

You can thank Ben Bernanke for the recent stock market decline and the sluggish economy the past year. His steps to bring down long-term interest rates have further exacerbated his mistakes with bringing down short-term rates to almost zero.

They have had no effect on jobs growth or producing any signs of recovery in the housing market. There are two sides to interest rates, and he is completely ignoring the savings side in this equation, the savers and retirees who are missing out on income from reasonable interest rates at banks and with bonds.

This is resulting in the disappearance of their disposable income. They have lost this income to pay their bills or to spend money at restaurants and stores. Without these expenditures, Bernanke is bringing down the growth and GDP or our country.

Hopefully, there are forces in Congress or other federal reserve members who can talk some common sense to him and have him reverse this lunacy before it is too late.

David Hrdlicka

Bartlett