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Statement from Jerome Powell

federalreserve.gov

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Re: Statement from Jerome Powell

#591

Post by [deleted] »

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.

[deleted]

Re: Statement from Jerome Powell

#592

Post by throw0101d »

amanaplanacanal wrote: post #340
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.…

Not sure being out in the street really does much. Gives the jack booted thugs an excuse for a little recreational violence. A general strike might have an effect, but I'm not sure how you organize such a thing.

> Not sure being out in the street really does much. Gives the jack booted thugs an excuse for a little recreational violence.

"Let" them do the violence. And let the violence be filmed. And let the (currently) indifferent / apathetic folks see the violence being done.

This is one way to enact change: most folks have no interest in violence and abhor it. By showing that one side is 'pro-violence' in their policies and actions you give more power to the side(s) that are not violence.

Re: Statement from Jerome Powell

#593

Post by throw0101d »

fooey wrote: post #145
neom wrote: post #54

So I'm sitting here as a Canadian wondering what the American people are going to do? I understand a lot of what the President of The United States says - I even agree with some of it, the problem is I don't feel like we're engaging with the American people anymore. I really wonder where you guys are headed and what it means for the rest of us, I spent 15 years in the states, built a public company there, I really li…

There's basically nothing the American people can do short term. The US government is entirely non-responsive and only nominally representative. Barring a wave of Republican retirements in the House, the absolute soonest there are any guardrails are after the 2026 midterms when a new congress is seated in 2027.

> There's basically nothing the American people can do short term.

If there are ICE agents in your area follow and film them. Create evidence of their jackboot tactics.

Most folks do not like force/violence, and the more people see the jackboot policies and actions of one side, the more folks will lean towards the side(s) that are against those policies.

Re: Statement from Jerome Powell

#594

Post by [deleted] »

drpepper42 wrote: post #430
shepherdjerred wrote: post #423

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why is literacy so important? Wasn’t literacy lower in the US at other points in time?

The Lippmann school of democracy sort of predisposed that people were too stupid and that through journalists would emerge a reasonable set of choices. For the most part that matches the way politics worked in the USA and most democracies until recently. Unfortunately the internet disrupted things such that suddenly everyone needs to actually be democratically adept in at least some form more akin to the Dewey school…

[deleted]

Re: Statement from Jerome Powell

#595

Post by throw0101d »

tyrust wrote: post #454
drpepper42 wrote: post #430

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Lippmann school of democracy sort of predisposed that people were too stupid and that through journalists would emerge a reasonable set of choices. For the most part that matches the way politics worked in the USA and most democracies until recently. Unfortunately the internet disrupted things such that suddenly everyone needs to actually be democratically adept in at least some form more akin to the Dewey school…

Interesting comment. I haven't heard this problem phrased this way nor have I heard of these schools, do you have a recommendation for learning more about this?

See perhaps:

> At the turn of the 20th century, a crucial debate emerged between Walter Lippmann and John Dewey over the viability of democracy in an increasingly complex world. Lippmann critiqued democracy’s reliance on public opinion, arguing that citizens construct simplified “pseudo-environments” shaped by media and stereotypes, rendering them ill-equipped to make informed decisions on vast global issues. He warned that modern democracies are driven more by emotionally charged reactions than by accurate understanding, and that media, language, and time constraints further distort reality. Dewey responded not by dismissing Lippmann’s concerns, but by reframing democracy as more than a political system—it was, to him, an ethical ideal and a form of social cooperation. Viewing society as an interconnected organism, Dewey believed individuals flourish only through participation and education. He saw democracy as a continuous process of mutual growth, where every person contributes uniquely, and where the antidote to authoritarianism lies in cultivating thoughtful, empowered citizens—not in retreating from democratic ideals, but in deepening them.

* https://www.philosophizethis.org/podcast/dewey-lippman

Also maybe from The Atlantic (from 1919), "The Basic Problem of Democracy" by Walter Lippman:

https://archive.is/https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arch...

Re: Statement from Jerome Powell

#596

Post by rhubarbtree »

croon wrote: post #542
rhubarbtree wrote: post #514

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is disingenuous and a way to rationalise your feelings by blaming trump voters. Firstly, it’s a two party state and choice is limited. People vote for the least worst option, or for a candidate that shares at least some of their values. Second, many people did not vote. Third, approval ratings show that many trump voters do not approve of his actions. Fourth, where did “annex Greenland, abduct Maduro, remove ind…

These are all before the 2024 election: https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-could-try-buy-greenlan... https://www.wired.com/story/trump-cia-venezuela-maduro-regim... https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/how-trumps-wish-for-more-f... https://www.hks.harvard.edu/centers/mrcbg/publications/end-f... Trump voters are either willfully ignorant or gleefully supportive. Maybe not the first time, but definitely the second and…

Are those links to a manifesto?

You haven't answered my other points.

It's just post-hoc rationalisation because you're angry.

Re: Statement from Jerome Powell

#597

Post by Fnoord »

dredmorbius wrote: post #377
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.

Curtis's HyperNormalisation , a BBC documentary, for those unfamiliar: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HyperNormalisation > Video, at BBC Online: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p04b183c >

HyperNormalisation is one of many great documentaries by Adam Curtis, many of which are available on archive.org [1]. Specifically, I can recommend The Century of the Self and The Power of Nightmares. No need for YouTube :) FWIW, these used to be able on Google Video back when that still existed. And via torrents.

[1] https://archive.org/search?query=creator%3A%22Adam+Curtis%22

Re: Statement from Jerome Powell

#598

Post by luxuryballs »

__loam wrote: post #378
luxuryballs wrote: post #270

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The defense is that the status quo has become archaic and self-serving instead of serving the public so the current operations people doing some house cleaning and tossing a few rooms to see what’s going on in there is overdue, changes need to happen and power structures need to be shaken out a bit to make sure they are not getting in the way of the people they were created to act on behalf of, and scatter the ones w…

It's a funny defense coming from the most corrupt administration since Nixon

there’s just a lot of partisan media outlets that are trying to make it look this way because it’s the corruption paying to try and stop it so they can keep power

Re: Statement from Jerome Powell

#599

Post by UqWBcuFx6NV4r »

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.

This is utterly delusional. I can’t comprehend of whatever mind virus made it so far into the American political discourse for this BS to still be parroted in 2026. I am blessed to be born in and to reside in a country with a comparatively much better-functioning government and voting system. You better believe that if I were American I’d be voting for the dems in a heartbeat. I’d be endlessly annoyed about it, especially compared to the vastly more palatable options where I live, but there’d be zero doubt about my decision. The culture of not voting is the biggest unforced self-own the American public has inflicted upon itself. You all get what you deserve with that one.

Re: Statement from Jerome Powell

#600

Post by mapontosevenths »

mlrtime wrote: post #570
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…

I've been reading this topic for years. It is very common with a certain party that the other side votes against their interest, or is too dumb to vote (literacy). You can also see it in race voting, where people will say a certain race is voting against their interest just to vote for someone with the same skin color. It's actually a talking point that actively pushes people away from their cause. Does this type of…

datsci_est_2015 explains it better than I would just a few comments down, but this isn't what I mean. I mean that people who are semi-literate or illiterate are terrible thinkers. They are, in fact, fundamentally incapable of understanding the modern world they find themselves in and are CONSTANTLY taken advantage of.

Bad thinkers make bad decisions, and are vulnerable to being manipulated in ways that good thinkers aren't. Try getting a mortgage or a car loan when you can't read complete paragraphs. Try investing your retirement properly. Try doing just about anything that modern adults are required to do. You're definitely going to pay a "stupid tax" throughout your entire adult life if you lack the ability to read critically.

People bemoan the death of journalism, but it's not the journalists fault. Did you know that USA Today was intentionally invented to be an alternative news source for people who couldn't read well? At the time it was bemoaned as the end of western civilization. Now it requires more of it's reader than the places people actually get their news from (Tik-Tok and Bathroom wall graffiti presumably).

FWIW - One side is objectively worse than the other, but it's not by a wide margin (a few basis points if I remember correctly) and it's probably just because one side lives in states that love to take the education budget and blow it on "more important" things.

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