The Federal Reserve chairman, Ben S. Bernanke, revealed on Tuesday exactly what the central bank is going to do to prevent the economy from further weakening, as yet another economic report confirmed that the recovery had slowed to a crawl.
Mr. Bernanke made clear that while the Fed could take various steps, including large purchases of government debt, "we need a way to raise money to do that" and “central bankers alone cannot solve the world’s economic problems.”
He went on to elucidate, "It will require a new way of thinking about the free market economy that will allow for more collaboration between the Central Bank and business. We particularly like the Google's model, of placing advertising next to relevant content. Given the level of interest recently in my words in particular, the Fed will now be selling advertising over television, internet, or writing, wherever and whenever Ben Bernanke speaks.
Central bankers placed some restrictions on the new program:
- The ads cannot be too annoying; absolutely no pop ups are permitted.
- Ads must be contextually relevant.
- The Fed will not allow advertising to be embedded in Ben's speech itself.
- The ads cannot obscure Ben's face too much.
- Ad space will be made available democratically through public auction.
- Ad revenue will be re-invested in the growth of other government programs.
In an odd display of positive emotion, Bernanke seemed almost giddy after the announcement.
