A veritable bombardment of government nonsense today. Mr Bernanke speaks up, asking for more regulatory powers. The Fed having done such a good job with the ones it has, of course. In nearly the same breath, he announced that the Fed would crack down on lending to borrowers with poor credit. Which it needs no new powers to do, and should have done several years ago. Instead, Mr Bernanke, your predecessor Mr Greenspan egged on the lenders, helping create the current crisis. He also encouraged borrowers to take on adjustable rate mortgages. More powers for the Fed will doubtless result in an even bigger disaster down the road.

Then Mr Paulson says that we should ignore the prices that houses trade at, because the data include a lot of foreclosures, which everyone knows “sell at a discount.” Actual people selling their houses should, therefore, receive higher than market prices. Mr Paulson, you should know by now that the price is the price and encouraging house owners to hold out for higher prices than the market price is not good advice, well not if they need to sell, anyway.

Then Mr Lacker of the Richmond Fed asserts that “On the whole, then, I expect growth to be positive, but quite modest for the rest of this year, and to gradually pick up over the course of next year.” Dream on, Mr Lacker.

Mr Lacker, I think you are trying to talk the economy into a better position by bolstering confidence. You are not bolstering mine. Either you are uninformed, or stupid, or mendacious. Or possibly all three. I would feel better if you acknowledged the problem. I know you can’t fix it, but a little humility would help us all.