PBS高端访谈:谁将替代贝南克做联邦储备委员会主席?

 　　JUDY WOODRUFF: Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke will step down at the end of his term next January, but the discussion of who President Obama might tap to replace him is already well under way.

　　To update us, we turn to longtime Fed-watcher and Wall Street Journal economics editor David Wessel. He is also author of "In Fed We Trust: Ben Bernanke's War on the Great Panic."

　　David Wessel, welcome back to the NewsHour.

　　DAVID WESSEL, The Wall Street Journal: Good to be with you, Judy.

　　JUDY WOODRUFF: So, before we talk about choosing the next Fed chairman, let me ask you about today's statement from the Fed about the economy, the story that Kwame reported a few minute ago. How did you read that?

　　DAVID WESSEL: I read it as the Fed was going out of its way to say nothing. They crafted a statement that reflected some developments in the economy, but they sent no new signal about their plans for winding¹ down their bond-buying or changing interest rates. It was really a no-news event.

　　Bernanke Spotlights² Political, Economic Challenges in Historic News ConferenceJUDY WOODRUFF: So, let's talk about the position of being the chairman of the Federal Reserve. How important a job is this, not just to monetary³ policy, but to economic policy?

　　DAVID WESSEL: I think it's pretty important. We have seen in the last couple of years how important Ben Bernanke was to managing -- helping⁴ to manage the world economy during this devastating⁵ financial crisis. We know from history that Paul Volcker, Alan Greenspan, Ben Bernanke, the chairman, even though he's one of 19 people on the committee, has enormous amount of sway, becomes a symbol of confidence in the government.

　　And it's more important now than ever because the Dodd-Frank law gave the Fed a whole lot more power and oversight⁶ over the financial system, and that will also be the responsibility of the next Fed chairman.

　　JUDY WOODRUFF: So the names we're hearing the most who are supposedly the front-runners are the current vice⁷ chairman man of the Fed -- and that's Janet Yellen -- and former Treasury⁸ Secretary Larry Summers. David, are they the front-runners? Is that who it is believed to be? And if so, why?

　　DAVID WESSEL: I think they're the front-runners.

　　I think they're both people who are in sync with the president. In some respects, although they have been seen as rivals, they have more in common than they have apart. Larry Summers is a product of Harvard, Janet Yellen of Yale. But both of them believe very strongly, and in contrast to many Republicans, that at this time in our history, our economic history, the government, particularly the fiscal⁹ side of government, tax and spending, should be more aggressive.

　　Both of them believe that the Fed has a pretty important role to play in getting the economy going again. I think that there may be some differences in nuance¹⁰ about how they would actually manage the job when they got there. Their personalities¹¹ are very different.

　　But I think in terms of the Fed policy we'd expect, I think there's actually not that much difference between them.

　　JUDY WOODRUFF: Well, I want to ask you about that, because there are prominent Democrats¹² who are coming out and talking about Larry Summers' position on deregulation before the financial collapse¹³ in 2008, and they're questioning whether if Larry Summers were chosen the current Fed policy of bond-buying, stimulating¹⁴ the economy, getting the government involved in the economy would continue.

　　DAVID WESSEL: Well, I think what Summers has said is that he doesn't think this quantitative¹⁵ easing, this bond-buying does much good, but he doesn't think it does much harm either.

　　And so, on that balance, given how bad the economy is, I think you would expect him to continue the policies of Bernanke, which may involve pulling back. But on the regulatory thing, I think there is a difference.

　　Mr. Summers has become a symbol of the Clinton-era deregulation of the financial markets. And I think people who are objecting to him on substance, as opposed to personality, which is a whole 'nother issue, are worried that he is too close to Wall Street. He's actually been working for Citibank in his years since leaving the White House, and more -- not skeptical¹⁶ enough of the banks. And they think Janet Yellen would be more so.

　　JUDY WOODRUFF: Well, I wanted to ask you about that. When it comes to the other power centers, the Congress, the political leadership in the in this city and Wall Street, how do they see Janet Yellen?

　　DAVID WESSEL: Well, I think a lot of them see Janet Yellen as the not Larry Summers. He seems to have an extraordinary number of detractors among liberal Democrats in both the Senate and the House.

　　A bunch of House women signed a petition today calling on the president to appoint Janet Yellen. I think that -- but I think that the question -- some of this is just kind of posturing¹⁷. The real decision-maker here is the president.

　　He knows Larry Summers much better than he knows Janet Yellen. He seems to feel, from what he said to members of the House and Senate caucuses¹⁸ today, that it's important to have someone who is a good crisis manager, and that kind of sounds like -- more like the Summers resume than the Yellen resume.

　　But this blowback could actually influence his decision.

　　JUDY WOODRUFF: In fact, as you mentioned, that Summers' name came up in that session the president had with Democratic members of Congress, and they were critical.

　　DAVID WESSEL: Right.

　　And he seemed to have defended Larry Summers, although we're not in the room and we don't know the context. The other thing that is interesting, he mentioned a third player, Don Kohn, another former Fed vice chairman, who would be a surprise pick, a dark horse, but I think it was the president's way of saying, like, let's not boil this down to a Janet-vs.-Larry mudfest.

　　JUDY WOODRUFF: And one there thing about Janet Yellen. You mentioned the women members of Congress who signed this petition. How much is gender¹⁹ seen as a factor in that she would be the first woman Fed chair?

　　DAVID WESSEL: You know, it's hard to exclude gender as a factor.

　　On one hand, you have Larry Summers, who got thrown out of the presidency²⁰ in Harvard in part because he made some offensive remarks about women in science and engineering. You have the president who has been accused of being -- having -- running an old boy network. You have a very credible²¹ female candidate. So there are people who think, if you can't get a female chairman of the Federal Reserve now, if not now, when?

　　On the other hand, I suspect that to some extent the president's going to think about that and make a choice on other factors, but outside the White House, that seems to have taken a huge role.

　　JUDY WOODRUFF: It was noticed the administration named a woman deputy treasury secretary today, and wondered if there was any connection.

　　DAVID WESSEL: Well, it's interesting. It's a woman who comes from the Federal Reserve. So there are two female governors on the Federal Reserve Board now, and -- in addition to Janet Yellen. They're both leaving. One has resigned.

　　I suspect it had nothing to do with the Fed chairmanship, but it certainly will be cited by the White House if they appoint Larry Summers or some other man. They will point to the fact we have a woman deputy treasury secretary and a woman who is head of the White House Budget Office, Sylvia Mathews Burwell.

　　JUDY WOODRUFF: David Wessel, thank you very much.

　　DAVID WESSEL: You're welcome.

1 winding   

n.绕，缠，绕组，线圈

参考例句：

• A winding lane led down towards the river.一条弯弯曲曲的小路通向河边。
• The winding trail caused us to lose our orientation.迂回曲折的小道使我们迷失了方向。

2 spotlights   

n.聚光灯（的光）( spotlight的名词复数 )；公众注意的中心v.聚光照明( spotlight的第三人称单数 )；使公众注意，使突出醒目

参考例句：

• The room was lit by spotlights. 房间被聚光灯照亮。
• The dazzle of the spotlights made him ill at ease. 聚光灯的耀眼强光使他局促不安。 来自辞典例句

3 monetary   

adj.货币的，钱的；通货的；金融的；财政的

参考例句：

• The monetary system of some countries used to be based on gold.过去有些国家的货币制度是金本位制的。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

4 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

5 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

6 oversight   

n.勘漏，失察，疏忽

参考例句：

• I consider this a gross oversight on your part.我把这件事看作是你的一大疏忽。
• Your essay was not marked through an oversight on my part.由于我的疏忽你的文章没有打分。

7 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

8 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

9 fiscal   

adj.财政的，会计的，国库的，国库岁入的

参考例句：

• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。
• The government has two basic strategies of fiscal policy available.政府有两个可行的财政政策基本战略。

10 nuance   

n.(意义、意见、颜色)细微差别

参考例句：

• These users will easily learn each nuance of the applications they use.这些用户会很快了解他们所使用程序的每一细微差别。
• I wish I hadn't become so conscious of every little nuance.我希望我不要变得这样去思索一切琐碎之事。

11 personalities   

n. 诽谤，（对某人容貌、性格等所进行的）人身攻击； 人身攻击；人格, 个性, 名人( personality的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There seemed to be a degree of personalities in her remarks.她话里有些人身攻击的成分。
• Personalities are not in good taste in general conversation.在一般的谈话中诽谤他人是不高尚的。

12 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

14 stimulating   

adj.有启发性的，能激发人思考的

参考例句：

• shower gel containing plant extracts that have a stimulating effect on the skin 含有对皮肤有益的植物精华的沐浴凝胶
• This is a drug for stimulating nerves. 这是一种兴奋剂。

15 quantitative   

adj.数量的，定量的

参考例句：

• He said it was only a quantitative difference.他说这仅仅是数量上的差别。
• We need to do some quantitative analysis of the drugs.我们对药物要进行定量分析。

16 skeptical   

adj.怀疑的，多疑的

参考例句：

• Others here are more skeptical about the chances for justice being done.这里的其他人更为怀疑正义能否得到伸张。
• Her look was skeptical and resigned.她的表情是将信将疑而又无可奈何。

17 posturing   

做出某种姿势( posture的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• She was posturing a model. 她正在摆模特儿的姿势。
• She says the President may just be posturing. 她说总统也许只是在做样子而已。

18 caucuses   

n.（政党决定政策或推举竞选人的）核心成员( caucus的名词复数 )；决策干部；决策委员会；秘密会议

参考例句：

• Republican caucuses will happen in about 410 towns across Maine. 共和党团会议选举将在缅因州的约410个城镇进行。 来自互联网

19 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。

20 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

21 credible   

adj.可信任的，可靠的

参考例句：

• The news report is hardly credible.这则新闻报道令人难以置信。
• Is there a credible alternative to the nuclear deterrent?是否有可以取代核威慑力量的可靠办法？