The Nobel Prize is one of the most prestigious honours awarded to people for groundbreaking work in diverse fields, and has also been among the most controversial. From Mahatma Gandhi never winning the Nobel Peace Prize to US President Barack Obama getting it despite ongoing conflicts under his regime, the selection process is often hit by accusations of bias. As the world faces an imminent recession caused by US inflation, Indian tech-billionaire, Sridhar Vembu has criticised former US Fed chairman Ben Bernanke’s selection for the Nobel Prize in Economics.
Vembu didn’t mince words
Vembu, the CEO of tech firm Zoho, called honouring Bernanke for his study on bank collapses leading to the great economic depression of the 1930s, a bankruptcy moment for the Nobel Prize. In a tweet about the Nobel committee’s decision, Vembu blamed Bernanke’s policies for the current crisis that the global financial system is facing.
Vembu wasn’t alone, as investor Peter Schiff also added that Bernanke helped his predecessor Greenspan create the 2008 financial crisis, and also blamed him for the current turmoil.
Ghost from Bernanke’s banking past
Bernanke had been on the council of economic advisors in the US since 2005, and took over as chairperson of the US Federal Reserve in 2006. The financial crisis, caused by excessive risk-taking by banks and failure to flag mortgage bonds, hit the US triggering a global crisis during his term. In response to the recession, Bernanke cut interest rates to bring them below 1% for the first time in US history.
But after heading the US Federal Reserve till 2014, Bernanke has been blamed by many for pushing too much cash into the economy, which has led to inflation, that is behind the current rate hikes that has laid the groundwork for another long and painful recession. The UN has even gone on to say that the coming financial crisis could be more damaging for the global economy than the 2008 downturn itself.
