Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said the central bank is concentrating intently on reducing unemployment and projects inflation to stay under control for the foreseeable future.

For a lot of people, I know, it does not feel like the recession ever ended, even with the economy growing for two years, Bernanke said today in prepared remarks for a town hall- style meeting with soldiers at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas.

The event is part of Bernankes effort to explain to Americans his rationale for the central banks unprecedented bailouts of financial firms and efforts to spur economic growth. Bernanke and his colleagues are struggling to reduce unemployment stuck near 9 percent or higher for more than two years after lowering interest rates almost to zero and using unconventional tools to ease credit.

Joblessness is painfully high, with more than two- fifths of unemployed people out of work for longer than six months, by far the highest ratio since World War II, Bernanke said in comments before taking questions. These problems are very serious, and we at the Federal Reserve have been focusing intently on supporting job creation.

The Fed chief reinforced points made in his press conference last week, saying today that inflation appears to be moderating after spikes in oil and food prices helped accelerate price increases earlier this year.

We expect, based on the best information that we have today, that it will remain reasonably close to our objective of 2 percent or a bit less for the foreseeable future, Bernanke said.

Third Round

Last week, Bernanke signaled additional monetary stimulus may be needed to lower U.S. joblessness, saying potential actions including a third round of securities purchases are on the table. He warned in a Nov. 2 press conference that economic improvement will probably be frustratingly slow, with policy makers forecasting a 1 percentage-point drop in the jobless rate to about 8 percent over two years.

The Fed is trying to keep borrowing costs low to support consumer purchases of homes and cars and business investment in equipment, software and facilities, Bernanke said today. The central bank will return a substantial amount of earnings on its securities holdings to the U.S. Treasury Department this year after $125 billion of payments in the last two years helped reduce the federal budget deficit, he said.

Entire Burden

Bernanke reiterated his view that the Fed was never intended to shoulder the entire burden of promoting economic prosperity, calling on other economic policy makers to help through spending and tax policy as well as labor, housing, trade and regulatory efforts.

The public’s view of Bernanke, 57, has declined in recent months, according to Bloomberg polls. Twenty-nine percent said in September they have a favorable view of the central banker against 35 percent who have an unfavorable view. That compares with the June poll, when 30 percent had a favorable view, and 26 percent had an unfavorable view.

Bernanke has also drawn fire from Republican presidential candidates, with former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, businessman Herman Cain, Texas Governor Rick Perry, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich and Congressman Ron Paul all indicating they would appoint a new Fed chair if they won the presidency in 2012. Bernankes term as Fed chief ends in January of 2014.

Town-Hall Discussion

Since mid-2009 the Fed chief has also held a town hall- style discussion on PBS television and met with students and business executives for question-and-answer sessions. He began in April holding televised press conferences.

You may be wondering why the chairman of the Federal Reserve would travel to Texas to speak at a military base, Bernanke said today. He said he meets with a wide range of groups to listen, learn and explain the Feds actions. I am here because the men and women in military service, like all Americans, are profoundly affected by the economic challenges our nation has faced these past several years.

Bernanke’s visit took place one day before Veterans Day, the U.S. holiday honoring war veterans and which previously marked the end of World War I.

The show Seinfeld puts it best when explain double dipping: “It’s like putting your whole mouth right in the dip. Look, from now on when you take a chip, just take one dip and end it.” But this article isn’t about the socially-peculiar moments when you catch some double dipping at a party, rather it’s about the near future of our economy. Probabilities for a “double dip” in the market have definitely lowered over the past year or so, but we are not clear by a long shot. The status today stands much like the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

Consumers continuing to worry about their financial futures (remember that consumer spending accounts for over two-thirds of overall spending), firms scared to invest, banks on their heels about lending, and government organizations cutting back employment are just a few examples of recent events that have the power to create one small shock which could push the economy back into the ditch. Prices at the pump, for example, which is one of the most significant components to our economy, have recently jumped up to almost $4 a gallon and could easily be another small shock to set the economy back into the recession. Other worries such as European debt crisis, Chinese economic slowdown, and most importantly the shift of government policies in the coming years are even more possible disturbances which could trickle into a slowing up of our economy.

However, I believe that the change in government policy will be highly influential in the short term. Over the past four years, many branches of government have adapted policies to help the economy regain strength and ensure recovery. With plans to cut financial assistance to the private sector, these government institutions will now attack the problems of the federal deficit, the dollar, and inflation. In doing so, the private sector will have to learn to walk on its own—not with a brisk wind at their back, but rather head-on. Plans to patch up the federal deficit, the dollar, and inflation are dangerous and conflicting when an economy is still struggling to get it together, which is why I rank government policy swing as “public enemy number one,” but I don’t disagree totally with the oncoming changes.

In the past years, billions of dollars have been pushed into the market, and with these policies there has been growth which has led many to believe the coast is clear, but in reality it isn’t. On the other hand, it has created rather high levels of uncertainty which has made recently sound markets a little volatile as we hopelessly await the cutting of financial aid. Some economists say, “That things are going to get worse before they get better,” but I am optimistic that the market will create some level of balance to once again lead our economy back on the right path.

Recently there have been many discussions that our society, or more broadly put, our lifestyle as a whole is rapidly approaching the end of a plateau. These discussions have developed because of the notable offset of events such as the recent recession, Middle Eastern unrest, and foreign civil rights. To a certain extent, most can agree that the 21^st century has started off rough, but at the same time most do not agree that the plateau is near, or whether it even exists. Suggestions have risen that our society and style of life needs to be sent back to the days of simplicity, and some even advise prehistoric lifestyles. But too many economists and philosophers say there are no facts that suggest the human race is willing or able to take steps back in time just live a simpler, slower life.

Let us pull back to reality for a few moments. We can all agree that a caveman-like lifestyle is not the best way to go. Rather just say we turn the clock back to sometime in the early 1900s. During this time period many problems plagued our societies, especially diseases. Tuberculosis, pneumonia, and various water borne pathogens were the top three causes of death and life expectancy was around 50 years old during this time. But what does this have to do with anything? If we were currently living in the 1900s and we heard the same clamor about changing our lifestyles because of the various happenings during those days, we would have never developed medical treatments for these diseases. Innovation is how we found these treatments which were created through competition, labs, and the frenzy of our markets. Complain all you want about the frantic life we currently live, but you cannot take the good without the bad. You cannot take the 70 year life expectancy without regulations from the pharmaceutical companies and the government. Would it make sense to turn the ship around now? No.Currently, innovation is trying to attack the modern day problems like AIDS/HIV. So where do Pop Tarts come in to play?

Cookies and Crème, Wild Grape, Cinnamon Roll, Rainbow Sandwich, Cherry Turnover, and Blueberry Muffin are just a few of the over thirty flavors of Pop Tarts that you can find on shelves today. In 1964 when Pop Tarts were first sold however, there were only four flavors: Strawberry, Blueberry, Brown Sugar Cinnamon, and Apple Currant. With an ever-expanding market and a society which craves innovation, we get rewarded with options and choices. If you want Pumpkin Pie Pop Tarts you can buy them, but could not do that in 1964.Because society and modern markets want innovation, we get the choice to buy new and different products. Turning back to the times of old would impede development of options and choices.

I am not a doctor but I know that the human brain is programmed to innovate and plan. Our brain gets excited when we start to watch a movie or when we create something new (like a website). Without the excitement to create or start a project, we would not see progress in medicines, higher standards of living, or increases in life expectancy. In addition, humans like to have choices like what to eat, watch, or discover. It is not impossible to go back to the days of more simple living but are you willing to give up going to the grocery store in exchange to hunt in your back yard? No need to take a poll, the majority of us are not going to give up Wal-Mart. To sum it up, we like progress and turning around to the life of stagnation is not what we are trained to do. Although innovation brings headaches, it also brings many advancements which are well-worth the trouble.