Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke: Long-Term Unemployment A 'National Crisis'

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Wednesday that long-term unemployment is an American "national crisis" and suggested that Congress should take further action to combat it. He also said lawmakers should provide more help to the battered housing industry.
THE failure of the Congressional super committee to come up with any agreement on the budget deficit makes it even less likely that Congress will rise above its partisan divisions and act on behalf of the millions of out-of-work Americans.

A tax cut that reaches 160 million Americans and government aid for the long-term unemployed will expire at the end of the year — sucking $165 billion out of the economy next year — unless Congress takes action.

The Federal Reserve is also paying heed. At a speech in late August, Chairman Ben Bernanke warned that long-term unemployment could harm the economy’s long-run growth prospects, though since then he has done little to help. Nothing would be so effective as a strong economy and a tight labor market. Despite growing interest in their troubles, that seems a distant prospect for those languishing on the edge of the working world. Read more....