Ben Bernanke's Post-Fed Speaking Fees Send A Scary Economic Message — forbes.com

Such news was inevitable, but the New York Times reported last week that former Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke’s has retired into a series of highly-paid speaking gigs around the world. This is the “revolving door” we all know about, government officials are paid relatively low salaries while ‘in service,’ but once back in their version of the private sector, they cash in. New York Times writer Mark Leibovich published a bestseller on the D.C. revolving door last year, titled This Town. For readers eager to understand why the size and scope of government is never reduced no matter the political party in power, they would do well to do read the book. It’s surely sick-inducing for it revealing how very rich former pols from each side have become in retirement; their wealth a function of their ability to influence the direction of ever-increasing government spending. Readers ought to keep this in mind the next time they hear the comical falsehood (one promoted by Bernanke) that government spending stimulates the economy. It surely does, if you live in Washington, D.C., and your post-political work purpose is to move to move around money taken from hapless taxpayers.

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