A Commencement speech, even when delivered by one of the most powerful economists in the nation, is not given much thought in our world. And so it was with Dr. Bernanke’s speech, entitled “The Economics of Happiness”, which he delivered to the graduating class of the University of South Carolina on May 8, 2010. This is, I believe, one commencement speech that you should try to find the time to read. It is readily available from this link: www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/speech/bernanke20100508a.htm.
Most of the headlines of those few media outlets mentioning Dr. Bernanke’s speech concentrated primarily on this statement; “If, as your parents always told you, money doesn’t buy happiness, then what factors do contribute to life satisfaction?” You are never shown the rest, or continuation of that statement, but are instead inundated with short and easy wrap-ups such as; “Bernanke to grads: Money can’t buy happiness”, from msnbc.com, and “Money can’t buy happiness, but helps: Bernanke”, via Reuters, or “Bernanke Tells Grads Money Isn’t Everything”, The Atlantic.
These headlines are catchy, but that’s it. The real message that Dr. Bernanke is sending out is his message to economic policymakers. Economic policymakers are not economists, but individuals who do have control over the lives of others. To most of us, these are the politicians that write our laws and regulations. His big message, directed to those policy makers in addition to those graduating students is as follows:
“More generally, economic policymakers should pay attention to family and community cohesion. All else equal, good economic policies should encourage and support stable families and promote civic engagement. And to help people feel in control of their own destinies, policies should respect the autonomy of individuals, families, and communities to make their own decisions whenever possible, as research has confirmed the intuitive notion that individual freedoms contribute to life satisfaction.”
Dr. Bernanke’s statement seems to be in conflict with many of the current groups of economic policy makers found at all levels, from our local government all the way to Washington. Good economic policy, the type of policy encouraged by our Federal Reserve Chairman, is the same economic policy that created the greatest economic power in history, the United States of America. The right, granted to each of us in the Declaration of Independence, to individually seek “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness”.
Let’s hope our politicians listen and learn from Dr. Bernanke.
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