. >> all i ever hear is put out the punchbowl and let's party. they never take the punchbowl away and that's the problem i have with what the three of you are saying. look, i think americans believe this debt is a real financial crisis, that this is not a fire drill, this is a really important component as to why the economy is doing so well. and austin, i'm not saying we shouldn't have done anything in 2008 and 2009. you're right, the president inherited a great economic crisis. the crisis we have now is here we are three and a half years later. the census bureau just came out with numbers this week that were a disaster. in connection with are still falling, the poverty rate is at a record high. the poverty ir ussues we put in place just didn't work out. >> we agree the poverty is a problem, so you should recognize in saying you're afraid of the fiscal cliff, steven, your contradicting your own point by saying, well, i'm really nervous that if they raise taxes and cut spending at a time like this, it's going to tank the economy. i think if you w

. >> the fed, normally, it's view is to take away the punchbowl as soon as the party gets started. they said, "we're not doing that. we want to get this party started." >> reporter: federal reserve policymakers also released updated projections showing they don't expect the unemployment rate to get back to normal until sometime in 2015. that suggests the fed could be buying bonds for a long time. former fed economist roberto perli expects q.e.-3 to run for another six to nine months. >> going forward, the important thing to figure out will be, when will the fed stop? and so, the focus of everybody in the market will be squarely on the employment numbers, the unemployment rate, the labor market in general. >> reporter: an open-ended commitment to buy bonds is not without risks for the fed. the romney campaign released a statement calling q.e.-3 a bailout for president obama's poor economy. some economists argue bernanke is risking another outburst of inflation when the economy turns around. bernanke says the fed's research shows that's a manageable concern. the bigger fear he sees i