Sanders: Bernanke ‘asleep at the wheel’

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) blasted Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke today, indicating he will likely vote against confirming Bernanke to a second term.

“Mr. Bernanke was head of the Fed and the nation’s chief economist as this crisis, driven by reckless speculation, developed,” said Sanders, and independent who caucuses with Democrats. “Tragically, like the rest of the Bush administration, he was asleep at the wheel during this period and did nothing to move our financial system onto safer grounds.”

Sanders, who has sponsored legislation to audit the Federal Reserve, went on to accuse Bernanke of being more concerned with Wall Street excess than the well-being of working Americans.

“As the middle class of this country continues to shrink, we need a chairman of the Federal Reserve who is more concerned about expanding the productive economy–increasing decent-paying jobs for all Americans–than continuing to fan the flames of Wall Street greed and outrageous compensation packages,” said Sanders.