Axis of Depression

By PAUL KRUGMAN

Published: November 18, 2010

What do the government of China, the government of Germany and the  Republican Party have in common? They’re all trying to bully the Federal  Reserve into calling off its efforts to create jobs. And the motives of  all three are highly suspect.........

So what’s really motivating the G.O.P. attack on the Fed? Mr. Bernanke  and his colleagues were clearly caught by surprise, but the budget  expert Stan Collender predicted it all. Back in August, he warned Mr.  Bernanke that “with Republican policy makers seeing economic hardship as  the path to election glory,” they would be “opposed to any actions  taken by the Federal Reserve that would make the economy better.” In  short, their real fear is not that Fed actions will be harmful, it is  that they might succeed.

Hence the axis of depression. No doubt some of Mr. Bernanke’s critics  are motivated by sincere intellectual conviction, but the core reason  for the attack on the Fed is self-interest, pure and simple. China and  Germany want America to stay uncompetitive; Republicans want the economy  to stay weak as long as there’s a Democrat in the White House.

And if Mr. Bernanke gives in to their bullying, they may all get their wish.