When the financial crisis broke out in 2008, the United States brazenly rescued the market. The three former enemy commanders were Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and Federal Reserve President John Geithner. Those who praise it are called "Three Musketeers" and those who belittle it are called "Three Heroes". Henry Merritt Paulson, the finance minister, is in charge of contacting the President and Congress to try to finish this work. As the president of the Federal Reserve of new york, Geithner is based in new york, and is responsible for contacting the financial tycoons on Wall Street nearby. The Fed mainly prints money in secret.

Courage to Act: Memoirs of the Financial Storm and Its Aftershocks, English original cover

All three have memoirs, each showing his magical powers. Paulson and Geithner were the first people to publish their memoirs, entitled On the Edge and Stress Test respectively. The moral of the title is that they have great wisdom and courage, stay calm in times of crisis, become the mainstay, and save the day. Bernanke's memoirs came late and were published in the second half of 20 15. This is not the courtesy of the old man, but Bernanke's resignation is the latest of the three. However, Bernanke also built a monument for himself, entitled Courage of Action-Memoirs of a Financial Crisis and Its Consequences. The word "courage" in the English book title is preceded by the definite article "the", which specifically refers to the courage that belongs to Bernanke and not others.

Indeed, if the crisis is not chaotic, the first hero of the three people should push Bernanke. At that time, he was sitting in the position of chairman of the Federal Reserve, and it was mainly up to him to order the printing of money by the Federal Reserve. Paulson and Geithner backed down, and Bernanke continued to dilute the dollar on a large scale.

Bernanke and others claimed to have made outstanding contributions to disaster relief and Wall Street, but they were criticized: mainly for failing to save the investment bank Lehman Brothers (hereinafter referred to as Lehman Brothers), which led to the entire financial tsunami. Wall Street banks are all bugs, and generally can't die. Even if you die, you have to pull a lot of padding, not one or two. Lehman's death, there are many padding. Anyway, to * * * save the bank, it is better to reach out and give a hand to La Rayman. Letting Lehman go bankrupt was mainly the decision of Paulson and Bernanke. Of the three, Geithner is the most junior and does not participate in major decisions. Paulson and Bernanke pushed him to the front desk. Bernanke argued in his memoirs that he and Paulson were unable to save Lehman. This shows that Geithner is completely a supporting role.

Bernanke and Paulson both insisted that it was not that they didn't want to save Lehman, but that there was really no way. At that time, the two refused to admit this because they were worried that the market would panic even more after telling the truth. John Selin, the former president of Merrill Lynch, said that Bernanke didn't save Lehman because he saved the investment bank Bear Stearns earlier and attracted a lot of criticism, so he was too scared to help Lehman again. Bernanke flatly denied it.

Bernanke wrote a book to defend himself, but his intention is still unfinished. He was interviewed by the British BBC and jumped to the front desk to defend himself, denouncing all kinds of criticisms against him. Dick fuld, former chairman of Lehman Brothers, insisted that the bankrupt Bernanke was guilty. According to Fuld, Lehman Brothers has sufficient assets for mortgage financing. The BBC host asked Bernanke what his response was to this statement. Bernanke blurted out, "Nonsense." (Nonsense) Bernanke is an academic official. He usually looks very elegant, gentle and polite. If he is not angry, he won't swear. Bernanke's gaffes showed that the problem hit the nail on the head: not saving Lehman was his heart disease.

Indeed, Bernanke and Paulson made great efforts to save Lehman, but they did not make any efforts. If everything was done to save Lehman, it could have escaped. It doesn't matter whether Lehman has an asset guarantee. From 2008 to 20 15, the Fed diluted the US dollar at a low interest rate and continuously transfused blood for Wall Street banks without asking these banks to provide guarantees as collateral. During the financial crisis in 2008, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley faced extinction, not because there was no asset financing, but because the share prices of these financial institutions plummeted.

Once a witness testifies in court, the opposing lawyer will ask many questions, not limited to those that the witness wishes or is willing to answer. Similarly, Bernanke was interviewed, and the host of the program also raised other questions-not tricky questions, but also questions Bernanke didn't want to answer: Why didn't the top management of the company be investigated for legal responsibility? Bernanke insisted that this was the decision of the US Department of Justice, not the responsibility of the Federal Reserve. High notes that have nothing to do with themselves. Under the pressure of the host, Bernanke admitted that the company executives should be held accountable, but then added bitterly that not only Wall Street banks, regulators and the public are also responsible. The public is also responsible? Bernanke stood on the opposite side of taxpayers and didn't beat himself up.

Winning or losing is a common occurrence in military strategists. The capital market is like a battlefield, and it is inevitable to miss. Lehman's collapse was Bernanke's accidental mistake, so there is no need to blame or explain: no one wants to settle accounts with Bernanke. Bernanke has absolutely no need to explain. Many things are unclear from the beginning, and may even get worse.