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Statement from Jerome Powell

federalreserve.gov

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Re: Statement from Jerome Powell

#251

Post by nabbed »

hash872 wrote: post #165

From an institutional engineering POV (warning- I am a grouchy old former political scientist), it would be interesting to come up with institutional solutions for some of the problems America is facing right now. Specifically I think I'd remove the Attorney General role from the President's authority and give it to Senate, to nominate & confirm exclusively. Let's say 51 votes to confirm and 55 votes to impeach. Even…

>Of course I would strongly prefer to not be a presidential system at all.

Having grown up in the US and having blinders on, I always thought all those parliamentary systems seemed unstable and sometimes comical. But now I see the value in it. Once a leader has demonstrated he is not up to the task, has grown out-of-touch, or has descended into madness, he can be replaced by his party, and if that didn't happen, a no-confidence vote could trigger an election. No guarantee either of those things would happen, but the option exists. The fixed four-year term idea now seems artificial and inflexible.

I suspect the current US leader and maybe even the previous US leader (maybe in his 4th year) would have suddenly found himself a back-bencher.

Re: Statement from Jerome Powell

#252

Post by swagmoney1606 »

davidw wrote: post #3

This is... just crazy. One of those mostly boring bits of plumbing that has been left to professionals throughout the entire 50 years of my life - and they're trying to wreck it.

There hasn't been a single point in my shorter life so far where things have been this out of control. The fed is supposed to be as non-political as possible. I know politics and the economy are intertwined, but tell me how this won't end up a disaster please. How do we get back to the USA we had even 10 years ago?

Re: Statement from Jerome Powell

#253

Post by layer8 »

JumpinJack_Cash wrote: post #172

I am surprised by the negative comments, the low interest rates = better thesis has always been somewhat popular on HN , now just because Trump is saying it (and operating to get there) it becomes an issue or something not to be aligned with. There are countless comments and discussions on this board about how: 1) interest rates should be zero, 2) interest rates being non-zero create a misallocation of capital where…

Even if one disagrees with Fed policy, the way Trump is having the DoJ criminally prosecute Powell under unrelated pretexts is disgraceful and undermines the Fed’s independence.

Re: Statement from Jerome Powell

#254

Post by JumpinJack_Cash »

ptero wrote: post #70
prodigycorp wrote: post #11

Many times I've disagreed with Powell, but major props for this statement.

I came in to say the same thing -- major, major respect to Powell. I am not a big fan of his earlier policies (or of Greenspan's and anyone after him for that matter). His "unlearn the importance of M2" did not age well. He made the tail end of the ZIRP more painful than it needed to be. But those were honest mistakes from a public servant who did his best and believed in what he is doing. And standing up for what he…

[flagged]

Re: Statement from Jerome Powell

#255

Post by kemayo »

Waterluvian wrote: post #89

Remember early in his first term when he tested waters but the governmental system pushed back and kept him in check? It feels like an out of body experience to look at this and contemplate how much he’s changed about how the U.S. government conducts itself.

He's also appreciably more senile now, and a common manifestation of that is lowered inhibitions. I'm not saying that Trump was great at 70, but now that he's 80 he's considerably less in control of himself.

(If you doubt this, go watch some clips and compare how he talks now to how he talked during his first administration. If you were concerned about Biden's state in 2024, you should be concerned about Trump now.)

Re: Statement from Jerome Powell

#256

Post by throw0101c »

Observation:

> Some countries that have prosecuted or threatened to prosecute central bankers for the purpose of political intimidation or punishment for monetary policy decisions: Argentina, Russia, Turkey, Venezuela and Zimbabwe.

* https://xcancel.com/jasonfurman/status/2010532384924442645#m

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jason_Furman

And Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC)

> If there were any remaining doubt whether advisers within the Trump Administration are actively pushing to end the independence of the Federal Reserve, there should now be none. It is now the independence and credibility of the Department of Justice that are in question.

> I will oppose the confirmation of any nominee for the Fed—including the upcoming Fed Chair vacancy—until this legal matter is fully resolved.

* https://xcancel.com/SenThomTillis/status/2010514786467959269

who sits on the United States Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs (which oversees the Fed):

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Senate_Committee...

The "independence and credibility of the DoJ" line is quite something else.

Re: Statement from Jerome Powell

#257

Post by skissane »

cal_dent wrote: post #203

The US drift into Adam Curtis' broad thesis in hypernormalisation(a) continues apace I see. Great to see J Pow putting up a fight but I fear this is all going one way. (a) >We live in a world where the powerful deceive us. We know they lie. They know we know they lie. They don't care. We say we care but do nothing.

I think the real test will be, not whatever this administration does, but how much of that survives into the next one - how much is the new normal versus how much is a temporary aberration.

That’s true even if the next administration is Republican (Vance or whoever), but especially true if the next administration ends up being Democratic instead-which while not certain, has decent odds-the more Trump defies norms, the more voters who will wish to go back to a “normal” Presidency

Re: Statement from Jerome Powell

#258

Post by gruez »

SpicyLemonZest wrote: post #193
gruez wrote: post #156

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Even if one grants that it is a small minority It is. What's more, such support is roughly the same across both parties, but both parties vastly overestimate the other side's support. https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2116851119 https://x.com/JustinGrimmer/status/1966997411060215960

I consider January 6 to have falsified all research along these grounds. I acknowledge, sure, that virtually nobody wants to see gun battles in the street. But if you can talk yourself into believing that a mob sent to overturn the election and install the loser doesn't count as partisan violence, you can talk yourself into believing all kinds of catastrophes don't count.

>But if you can talk yourself into believing that a mob sent to overturn the election and install the loser doesn't count as partisan violence, you can talk yourself into believing all kinds of catastrophes don't count.

How's this different than say...

>polls show 99% (or whatever) of people are against crime

>voters elect a soft-on-crime politician, crime goes up

>"I consider the fact that the soft-on-crime politicians got elected to have falsified all research that people are against crime"

Re: Statement from Jerome Powell

#259

Post by esalman »

jayd16 wrote: post #169
Waterluvian wrote: post #89

Remember early in his first term when he tested waters but the governmental system pushed back and kept him in check? It feels like an out of body experience to look at this and contemplate how much he’s changed about how the U.S. government conducts itself.

He was rewarded with full control of every branch of government. What did we expect?

And that happened even after they arrested him and tried to put him in jail. What's happening now might be shocking but not unexpected at all.

Re: Statement from Jerome Powell

#260

Post by cosmicgadget »

epolanski wrote: post #212

One of the very few lonely voices. It's quite impressive how scared everybody is of this administration. News outlets, international leaders even in face of threats, big tech, including the delusional Musk who thought he could've handled the president's rage. Hell even his own party is scared of speaking up, you either fall in line or you risk falling victim of the most vicious direct attacks, even if you've been a h…

The turning point may have been when the Supreme Court decided a president couldn't be criminally liable for anything done in office. Having no fear of consequences is quite an enabler.
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