What?? I Want What Bernanke Is Smoking!!!   Bernanke says Fed
stimulus benefits clear, budget cuts a risk  WASHINGTON
(Reuters) – Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke strongly
defended the U.S. central bank’s bond-buying stimulus before
Congress on Tuesday, saying its benefits clearly exceed possible
costs.  The Fed chairman also urged lawmakers to avoid sharp
spending cuts set to go into effect on Friday, which he warned
could combine with earlier tax increases to create a
“significant headwind” for the economic recovery.  See, it’s
already happening.  But, what benefits?   But he added these did
not seem material at the moment, adding the central bank has all
the tools it needs to retreat from its monetary support in a
timely fashion.  No, they don’t.  How does one turn off this
spigot?  In response to the financial crisis and deep recession
of 2007-2009, the Fed not only slashed official interest rates
to effectively zero but also bought more than $2.5 trillion in
mortgage and Treasury debt in an effort t