WASHINGTON - January 7, 2011 - Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke sketched a more optimistic view of the economy Friday but said the Fed's $600 billion bond-buying program is needed because unemployment will likely stay elevated for up to five more years.

Even though there is no independent corroborating evidence to support such a declaration, Bernanke told the Senate Budget Committee that there's rising evidence that a self-sustaining recovery is taking hold. He said he expects stronger growth because consumers and businesses will boost spending this year, though he did not provide details as to why he expects such improvement, because the Amerikan people do not have any spending money.

Bernanke spoke an hour after the government released a disappointing employment report. Employers added only 103,000 jobs in December.

Asked about December's 103,000 job gains, Bernanke said if the pace of hiring doesn't increase, "we're not going to see sustained declines in the unemployment rate."