3 ms·

So they want to engineer high unemployment to squash demand because adequate industrial policy that would provide a decent supply would be too hard to implement

• anm89 4y ago
  This is the stated job of the Fed: to balance inflation concerns with employment concerns. Inflation is at 40 year highs and unemployment is at 40 year lows. It's not exactly a hard choice. And I say this as someone who leans far against fed apologism.
  • HarryHirsch 4y ago
    Where are the other federal agencies? There's an energy shortage, a grain shortage, a meat shortage, a housing shortage, a water shortage in the West, an electronic component shortage, and an overabundance of Covid. The only one that we hear about is the central bank, which can only combat inflation through demand destruction, and we all know what that means.
    • anm89 4y ago
      I'm not commenting on how all of the government should be micro managed. In fact that is exactly the point. It would be irresponsible for the Fed to consider any of that. Their job is to manage the price level and employment. You commented on why they are going to be pushing for higher unemployment. Well that's why. Because the rest of those things aren't the Fed's concern. I'm not even defending them. Personally I think they are in the middle of a big policy mistake. But their reasoning for that policy mistake is pretty clear and I'm somewhat sympathetic to the fact that it might be the single path with acceptable optics.