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I gave you direct quotes from Powell's September Press Conference. https://www.federalreserve.gov/mediacenter/files/FOMCpresconf20220921.pdf https://www.federa

I gave you direct quotes from Powell's September Press Conference. https://www.federalreserve.gov/mediacenter/files/FOMCpresconf20220921.pdf https://www.federalreserve.gov/mediacenter/files/FOMCprescon... He goes on to say that supply and demand for workers needs to be brought into balance. The goal of raising interest rates is to reduce demand for labor. He says that directly. This isn't a conspiracy theory.

JumpCrisscross 4y ago
> goal of raising interest rates is to reduce demand for labor. He says that directly None of your quotes say that.
- im-a-baby 4y ago
  This quote says it: > The labor market continues to be out of balance, with demand for workers substantially exceeding the supply of available workers. The labor force participation rate showed a welcome uptick in August but is little changed since the beginning of the year. FOMC participants expect supply and demand conditions in the labor market to come into better balance over time, easing the upward pressure on wages and prices. The median projection in the SEP for the unemployment rate rises to 4.4 percent at the end of next year, ½ percentage point higher than in the June projections He's expecting the act of raising interest rates to increase unemployment to 4.4%. He's doing this to bring balance to supply and demand for labor, to ease upward pressure on prices. He is also asked directly when he will know when to stop: > So I will answer—I will answer your question directly, but I want to start here today by saying that my main message has not changed at all since Jackson Hole. The FOMC is strongly resolved to bring inflation down to 2 percent, and we will keep at it until the job is done. So the way we’re thinking about this is, the overarching focus of the Committee is getting inflation back down to 2 percent. To accomplish that, we think we’ll need to do two things, in particular: to achieve a period of growth below trend; and also some softening in labor market conditions to foster a better balance between demand and supply in the labor market. He directly says he's waiting to see softening of the labor market before stopping the rate hikes.
  - JumpCrisscross 4y ago
    > He's expecting the act of raising interest rates to increase unemployment to 4.4% > He directly says he's waiting to see softening of the labor market before stopping the rate hikes Yes, because we don’t want to ruin the labor market. Right now, rates can be raised without spiking unemployment. The Fed is trying to estimate when that stops happening. A clear signal that the limit has been reached is the labor market actually softening. That doesn’t mean the Fed is trying to raise unemployment. It’s trying to lower inflation, and thinks unemployment may rise as a result of that, though to date it has not.
    - im-a-baby 4y ago
      No, that's not what Powell is saying. Read this quote again: > So I will answer—I will answer your question directly, but I want to start here today by saying that my main message has not changed at all since Jackson Hole. The FOMC is strongly resolved to bring inflation down to 2 percent, and we will keep at it until the job is done. So the way we’re thinking about this is, the overarching focus of the Committee is getting inflation back down to 2 percent. To accomplish that, we think we’ll need to do two things, in particular: to achieve a period of growth below trend; and also some softening in labor market conditions to foster a better balance between demand and supply in the labor market. Powell says (paraphrasing slightly): "In order to get inflation under 2%, we need to do two things. 1. achieve a period of low growth, and 2. soften the labor market." Low growth and higher unemployment aren't simply side-effects of Powell's policy. These two things are explicitly stated goals.
      - AnimalMuppet 4y ago
        No. That quote still doesn't support your assertion. It clearly says that the actual goal is to control inflation.
        deleted 4y ago
        [deleted]
      - 4y ago
- AnimalMuppet 4y ago
  Exactly. The quotes say that the Fed's goal is to control inflation, and that reduced demand for labor is going to be collateral damage. But reducing demand for labor is not the goal; controlling inflation is. The quotes do not say what im-a-baby claims they say.

JumpCrisscross 4y ago

> goal of raising interest rates is to reduce demand for labor. He says that directly None of your quotes say that.

im-a-baby 4y ago
This quote says it: > The labor market continues to be out of balance, with demand for workers substantially exceeding the supply of available workers. The labor force participation rate showed a welcome uptick in August but is little changed since the beginning of the year. FOMC participants expect supply and demand conditions in the labor market to come into better balance over time, easing the upward pressure on wages and prices. The median projection in the SEP for the unemployment rate rises to 4.4 percent at the end of next year, ½ percentage point higher than in the June projections He's expecting the act of raising interest rates to increase unemployment to 4.4%. He's doing this to bring balance to supply and demand for labor, to ease upward pressure on prices. He is also asked directly when he will know when to stop: > So I will answer—I will answer your question directly, but I want to start here today by saying that my main message has not changed at all since Jackson Hole. The FOMC is strongly resolved to bring inflation down to 2 percent, and we will keep at it until the job is done. So the way we’re thinking about this is, the overarching focus of the Committee is getting inflation back down to 2 percent. To accomplish that, we think we’ll need to do two things, in particular: to achieve a period of growth below trend; and also some softening in labor market conditions to foster a better balance between demand and supply in the labor market. He directly says he's waiting to see softening of the labor market before stopping the rate hikes.
- JumpCrisscross 4y ago
  > He's expecting the act of raising interest rates to increase unemployment to 4.4% > He directly says he's waiting to see softening of the labor market before stopping the rate hikes Yes, because we don’t want to ruin the labor market. Right now, rates can be raised without spiking unemployment. The Fed is trying to estimate when that stops happening. A clear signal that the limit has been reached is the labor market actually softening. That doesn’t mean the Fed is trying to raise unemployment. It’s trying to lower inflation, and thinks unemployment may rise as a result of that, though to date it has not.
  - im-a-baby 4y ago
    No, that's not what Powell is saying. Read this quote again: > So I will answer—I will answer your question directly, but I want to start here today by saying that my main message has not changed at all since Jackson Hole. The FOMC is strongly resolved to bring inflation down to 2 percent, and we will keep at it until the job is done. So the way we’re thinking about this is, the overarching focus of the Committee is getting inflation back down to 2 percent. To accomplish that, we think we’ll need to do two things, in particular: to achieve a period of growth below trend; and also some softening in labor market conditions to foster a better balance between demand and supply in the labor market. Powell says (paraphrasing slightly): "In order to get inflation under 2%, we need to do two things. 1. achieve a period of low growth, and 2. soften the labor market." Low growth and higher unemployment aren't simply side-effects of Powell's policy. These two things are explicitly stated goals.
    - AnimalMuppet 4y ago
      No. That quote still doesn't support your assertion. It clearly says that the actual goal is to control inflation.
      - deleted 4y ago
        [deleted]
    - 4y ago
AnimalMuppet 4y ago
Exactly. The quotes say that the Fed's goal is to control inflation, and that reduced demand for labor is going to be collateral damage. But reducing demand for labor is not the goal; controlling inflation is. The quotes do not say what im-a-baby claims they say.