Sarah Palin's Monetary Policy Credentials Compared To Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke...

Sarah Palin recently attacked Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, asking him to "cease and desist" buying U.S. government debt.  Shahien Nasiripour wrote the following for The Huffington Post:

In prepared remarks to be delivered to a trade association in Phoenix, the former Alaska governor and vice presidential candidate said she is "deeply concerned" with the Fed's plan, announced last week, arguing that the nation's central bank would be "printing [money] out of thin air" and that it is "far from certain" to "even work." The argument was unusual in that monetary policy is supposed to be immune to political pressure.

I thought Nasiripour made an excellent dig against Palin later on in the article that I thought was worth mentioning:

Palin, whose monetary policy credentials could not be deduced Monday, addressed one side of the issue in what is likely to be an appeal to the Tea Party movement, which is deeply suspicious of the central bank.

Nasiripour then writes out Palin's arguments, but adds this little gem at the end:

Referencing calls from foreign leaders who oppose the Fed's plan, Palin will call on Bernanke to "cease and desist." The former mayor of Wasilla, Alaska, doesn't appear to mention the fact that foreign leaders are concerned because the Fed's plan is likely to lead to a devaluing of the dollar relative to other currencies, which should stimulate exports and cut into imports.

In case you were wondering, increased exports would mean increased employment.  Sure the cheap products manufactured in places like Bangladesh and Thailand may cost pennies more at Walmart, but wouldn't conservatives like Palin, who claim to champion American business interests, want to increase exports? 

In addition, I thought it was worth mentioning that while Sarah Palin may have leapfrogged across America to earn her journalism(?) degree, Bernanke graduated summa cum laude from Harvard University with a B.A. in economics in 1975 and earned a Ph.D. in economics from the Massachusettes Institute of Technology in 1979.  Bernanke also had an impressive career as a professor, teaching at New York University and Princeton University.   To put it bluntly, Bernanke has been studying economics since before Palin was a teen, so I think he has a bit more credability then she.  While I may not be a big fan of Bernanke, I would tend to believe that he knows a bit more then Palin...