Differing views

Although Bernanke favors a collegial approach to policy making, public dissent has emerged over the latest policy decisions — a departure from the Greenspan era, when a united front was generally presented.

St. Louis Fed President William Poole dissented at the Jan. 22 meeting as he favored that the committee wait until the scheduled meeting and Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher dissented on Jan. 30 as he was not in favor of additional ease at that time. Other members dissented at the October and December 2007 meetings, which has led some market analysts to voice concerns about an uncoordinated team.

“[For] a group that decides something as important as monetary policy, you want a united team,” Rogers says. “It seems to suggest there is no clear objective and there is no unified direction — that Bernanke is a little more reckless [than Greenspan].”