For Bernanke, no escaping politics now.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - For a Federal Reserve chairman who is worried about politics interfering with monetary policy, Ben Bernanke is taking on some awfully heated political topics. Echoing comments from White House and Treasury officials, Bernanke said last week that if Congress failed to raise the government's borrowing limit, it could force the United States into a "catastrophic" default. He urged lawmakers not to use the debt ceiling as a "bargaining chip" in debates over taxes and spending -- which some Republicans have threatened to do. The Treasury Department has said it may breach the $14.3 trillion debt ceiling as early as April 5 unless it is raised.Link

A Modest $500 Billion Proposal.........

After Republicans swept into office in 1994, Bill Clinton famously said in his State of the Union address that the era of big government was over. Nearly $10 trillion of federal debt later, the era of big government is at its zenith.Link

The Student Loan Swindle................

Alan Nasser is professor emeritus of Political Economy at the Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington. He co-authored "The Student Loan Debt Bubble" along with Kelly Norman, which appeared in CounterPunch.Link