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Statement from Jerome Powell

federalreserve.gov

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Re: Statement from Jerome Powell

#571

Post by tarsinge »

jiggawatts wrote: post #129
abrookewood wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's also completely in character with Trump's behaviour. He is a dictator who wants what he wants and can't abide anyone standing in his way. He wants absolute authority to do as he wishes. This extends to removing foreign heads of state so he can access their countries resources and also threatening 'allies' so he can take their territory. We're watching him systematically destroy any good will or moral authority t…

He was the owner and CEO of a private company — essentially a dictator without even a board or the SEC keeping him in check. For decades he hasn’t had to tolerate “checks and balances”! Nobody could say “no” and retain their jobs under him. The American public decided to put this type of person in charge. The consequences were predicted.

I don’t think the main issue is that this type of person has been put in charge, it’s that the system can fail because of the will of one person. It kind of reveals that the guardrails were decorum and at its core Americans elects dictators that up until now chose to behave well.

More generally I think in an age of social media democracies will have to evolve to prevent leadership cults. Maybe something like the head of state being indirectly elected by local representatives.

Re: Statement from Jerome Powell

#572

Post by Anamon »

baubino wrote: post #397
jordanpg wrote: post #310

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Stated differently, if things really are so bad (and I would be the first to agree that things are pretty bad), then why are so many comfortable people (like me) not out on the street every day? There are a lot of reasons for that, of course, but the bottom line is that when things get bad enough -- much worse than they are today -- then more people will take to the street, along with whatever sacrifice that entails.…

People are (and have been) taking to the streets. Americans tend to think that a protest must involve everyone otherwise it’s pointless. They don’t realize that protests typically involve a tiny fraction of the population. The more, the better of course, but stop sitting around waiting for it to get big. Either get out there now or find other ways to contribute. There’s plenty to be done.

There was a study a while ago, analyzing previous events to estimate which percentage of a population needs to become active to effect meaningful change. The number was surprisingly low, I think less than 5%.

Re: Statement from Jerome Powell

#573

Post by intended »

Youden wrote: post #519
Aurornis wrote: post #435

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> * As (ostensibly) a representative Democracy America's fate is dictated by the majority of it's citizens. No, it's determined by the people who actually go out and vote. Bizarrely, voter turnout among younger people remains low. It's beyond frustrating to work with large groups of young people who are seemingly always talking politics and angry about something political, then to watch as half of them either forget…

In defence of young people, it's "determined" by the people who actually go out and vote the same way a child "determines" what's for dinner when asked "would you like broccoli or brussels sprouts?" American democracy is broken. Not in an abstract, hand-wavy feelings way but a hard, numerical, mathematical way. A two party system results in no real choice. First past the post results in a two party system. America us…

The self reinforcing prophecy of “somebody else’s job”.

It’s the job of politicians to pander to us, the good voter. Since they didn’t offer us something good, we didn’t vote, and that results in this current situation.

Politics is not my job, being aware of how politics works is not my job. My job is just to let them know they aren’t good enough. It’s because they aren’t good enough, that we landed up in this situation.

Re: Statement from Jerome Powell

#574

Post by mlrtime »

Loudergood wrote: post #410
mapontosevenths wrote: post #120

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I wonder where you guys are headed. You need to know only two facts about America to guess that: * Fifty three percent of Americans now read below the sixth grade level. * As (ostensibly) a representative Democracy America's fate is dictated by the majority of it's citizens. Our future is to become a broken nation governed by middle-school student level thinking. The only way to build a better America is to build a…

In what language? 78% of Americans have English as their first language.

Also, look into how the statistic is gathered vs other countries.

There is no exact definition on this statistic and how to measure. There is also reporting biases. Single person vs household for example.

Re: Statement from Jerome Powell

#575

Post by mlrtime »

Tanoc wrote: post #498
mrtksn wrote: post #458

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Of course there’s, it’s just that anti-Trump people don’t care as much and are not as brave as the pro-Trump people. MAGA people stormed the capitol, anti-Trump people just write well thought concerns on the internet. MAGA people for years endured deplatforming and being outcasts but developed methods to deal with it, the anti-Trump people are scared to lose what they have and are too concerned about their difference…

The pro-Trump group don't think about consequences is the thing. The anti-Trump group do, and that's a big reason why they're slow to respond. Performing a siege on the Capitol was a stupid, angry, and impulsive reaction with no thought of the consequences afterwards. That's the way the entire pro-Trump group tends to act. Meanwhile the anti-Trump group think about knock-on effects and long term consequences because…

I don't think that's it. It has more to do with something to lose or not.

"The most dangerous creation of any society is the man who has nothing to lose"

Liberals are generally more empathetic towards others and have good intentions when protesting. However if they have a comfortable life they will back down very quickly when faced with force. Just my opinion, could be wrong.

Re: Statement from Jerome Powell

#576

Post by intended »

jacquesm wrote: post #522
12_throw_away wrote: post #416

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Even the republicans will not be able to ignore this Oh boy would I love to join you in whatever alternate dimension you live in.

Republican representatives have been very much behaving like cattle, they're scared and they think that there are no other options but to cower and to jump to Trump's every whim. If one of them stands tall and survives (which remains to be seen) and speaks up then quite possibly others will follow.

Republicans are afraid of their base. This is what has been said by republican reps when asked why they don’t break with Trump. Even now, Trump has some impressive Republican approval numbers given the scenario America finds itself in.

He operates on a version of America that is a shadow of the old nation, and in that shadow, it doesn’t actually need the capabilities and complexities it had developed over the past century. It needs to be simple enough to get votes and conversation points on Fox, and everything else can be blamed on some meme of the moment. It’s insane to see, but apparently we have the technology to make Hallucination driven government work.

Re: Statement from Jerome Powell

#577

Post by refurb »

jacquesm wrote: post #521
refurb wrote: post #502

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> One only has to look at the buffoonish attempts to push through charges on Comey, James and other political opponents to see that. How so? Charges were dismissed on a technicality of on the US prosecutor who brought them, not based on evidence presented. Have you seen all the evidence? You seem very confident that no crime has been committed. I mean we've seen the declassified Obama memo on sicking the CIA on Trump…

Because it is very clear to most people - you excepted, apparently - that this is not a normal case but one that is solely predicated on putting pressure on someone who is not acting on Donald Trump's whim but based on their job description. If Powell would have reduced the interest rates further this would have never happened. The DOJ is now weaponized as a political tool, rather than that it is used for its real pu…

How is it clear? Have you seen all the evidence?

I’m being serious. You seem quite confident of your opinion, so I’m asking what it’s based on?

Re: Statement from Jerome Powell

#578

Post by paulryanrogers »

immibis wrote: post #530
pstuart wrote: post #440

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There were millions of voters who refused to vote for Harris because of the Gaza situation -- oh, the irony. https://www.imeupolicyproject.org/postelection-polling

That's half the problem. Democrats aren't offering much.

What do you think would be "much"?

Because even just the boring sanity of Biden Harris was leagues better than what we all saw coming in 2024. (Putting aside that whole constitutional amendment about insurrections.)

Re: Statement from Jerome Powell

#579

Post by paulryanrogers »

datsci_est_2015 wrote: post #395
mapontosevenths wrote: post #120

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I wonder where you guys are headed. You need to know only two facts about America to guess that: * Fifty three percent of Americans now read below the sixth grade level. * As (ostensibly) a representative Democracy America's fate is dictated by the majority of it's citizens. Our future is to become a broken nation governed by middle-school student level thinking. The only way to build a better America is to build a…

I think it’s also important to talk about what it means to “read at a 6th grade level” when this is mentioned, because a lot of people (myself included) might assume that just means they could finish and understand a book intended for 6th graders. But there’s actually meaningful criteria that sheds some light on the critical thinking capabilities of people who can or can’t read at certain levels, especially as it per…

This isn't accidental. Religious indoctrination literally teaches generations to make special loopholes in critical thinking and healthy skepticism to maintain their faith. And it has paid off in easy to manipulate masses for centuries.

Re: Statement from Jerome Powell

#580

Post by [deleted] »

watwut wrote: post #537
throwaway2037 wrote: post #518

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Fifty three percent of Americans now read below the sixth grade level. I don't know what to think when I see these quotes. Are you writing a local newspaper opinion piece about the "decline of America"? How is it meaningful to this discussion? It's like a poison blowdart shot from behind the stage curtain that kills the messenger. By the way, I Googled for the equivalent stat about Canada: "48-49% having skills bel…

This talking point never contains international comparison nor historical comparison. Most people using it do not even know what "sixth grade level" actually is. They just know it means "a little".

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