Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is stepping up his resistance of the Fed's $600 billion Treasury bond-purchase plan; proverb the economy is still stressed to become "self-sustaining" without government help.
In a taped conference with CBS' "60 Minutes" that aired Sunday night, Bernanke also argued that Congress shouldn't cut expenditure or boost taxes given how fragile the economy remains.
The Fed chairman said he thinks another depression is unlikely. Other than he warned that the economy could suffer a hold up if persistently high being without a job dampens consumer spending.
The conference is part of a broad counterattack Bernanke has been waging against critics of the bond purchase plan the Fed announce Nov. 3. The purchases are intended to lower long-term interest rates, lift stock prices and give confidence more spending to boost the economy.
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