With the possible exception of a dissenting vote by Chicago Fed President Charles Evans in today’s decision by the policy making committee of the central bank to do nothing (Evans apparently wanted more money printing sooner rather than later), there were no real surprises from  the Federal Reserve today – freakishly low interest rates through at least mid-2013 are still on tap, Operation Twist is ongoing, recent economic data showed modest improvement but forecasts were revised downward, and all policy tools remain at the ready.

The press conference following the policy meeting was similarly uneventful as a number of journalists asked about the next round of money printing to buy mortgage backed securities, currently believed to be the preferred option for QE3 after a recent round of speeches by the board.

When asked directly, Chairman Ben Bernanke noted with a little twinkle in his eye that the Fed’s printing presses could indeed be summoned to action if the need arises.

Aside from saying about six or eight times how good a job the central bank is doing in keeping inflation at just two percent (despite the official government data putting it at a three-year high of 3.9 percent just last month), about the only surprise came when the Fed chief  was asked what advice he would offer to savers looking for a decent return on their fixed income investments who are being punished by his freakishly low rates.

Bernanke commented:

We are quite aware that very low interest rates, particularly for a protracted period, do have costs for a lot of people. They have costs for savers … The response is there is a greater good here which is the health and recovery of the U.S. economy and for that purpose we’ve been keeping monetary policy accommodative … After all, savers are not going to get very good returns in an economy which is in a deep recession. Ultimately, if you want to earn money on your investments, you have to invest in an economy that is growing.

Tell that to some 75-year old with $50,000 in the bank who, up until Bernanke became Fed Chairman, could at least count on this tidy little sum to generate a few thousand dollars a year in risk-free returns to help pay the bills.

Poor Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke was the subject of intense criticism by GOP Presidential candidates during last night’s debate, though Texas Governor Rick Perry, who started all the Fed bashing about a month ago when he warned the Fed Chief to stay away from Texas, was noticeably silent on the subject. Details are in this report at Reuters.

Newt Gingrich led the charge. Asked if the nationwide Occupy Wall Street movement had a valid grievance about income inequality and the out-sized influence of big banks, the former House speaker pivoted:

“If they want to really change things, the first person to fire is Bernanke, who is a disastrous chairman of the Federal Reserve,” said Gingrich.

“Bernanke has in secret spent hundreds of billions of dollars bailing out one group and not bailing out another group. I think it is corrupt and it is wrong for one man to have that kind of secret power.”
…
“I wouldn’t keep Bernanke in office. I would choose someone of my own,” said Republican front-runner Mitt Romney, who did not include Bernanke when doling out praise to Bush and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson for pulling the financial system back from the precipice in late 2008.
…
(Ron) Paul termed Bernanke’s predecessor, Alan Greenspan “a disaster” because of policies that fueled investment bubbles such as the early 2000s Internet stock boom and bust.

“Bernanke compounds the problem,” Paul said. “He’s inflating twice as fast as Greenspan.”

Bernanke’s term ends in early-2014, so, should any of these GOP hopefuls occupy the White House beginning in early-2013, it should make for an interesting and awkward period leading up to the nomination process in the fall.