Ben Bernanke had a clear message for anyone worried about the economy:

We're on it.

In a speech Friday, the chairman of the Federal Reserve essentially said that the Fed will do everything in its power to support a recovery that is fast losing its grip.

Exactly what the Fed might do is less clear.

Bernanke's speech at a Fed conference in Jackson Hole, Wyo., came as the economy continues to sputter. Earlier in the day, the Commerce Department reported that national output — Gross Domestic Product — rose at a spare 1.6 percent annual rate in the three months ended June 30, far worse than expected. While corporate profits are hovering near their pre-recession peak, unemployment remains persistently high — 9.5 percent nationally in July. That's not a recovery.

There are more long-term unemployed in the United States now than at any time since the 1940s.

A renewed fear is falling prices, which could trigger a spiral that leads to deflation. A study by a pair of Ivy League econometricians presented at the same meeting found that inflation could fall much further over the next 12 months. Such a scenario would be of grave concern to the Fed and would require aggressive action.

Bernanke said the Fed had several approaches in mind if needed, including buying long-term securities, which has helped to bring down long-term interest rates and reduce borrowing costs.

Additional congressional spending on programs or projects that quickly get money into the economy is needed as well. We'd also favor a federal jobs program, modeled on successful programs from the 1970s, that could both retrain and put people to work.

The Fed seems ready to do its part, but as Bernanke noted in his speech Friday: "Central bankers alone cannot solve the world's economic problems."

Congress? Are you listening?

REPRINTED FROM THE MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL.