house Bill H.R. 2913
Should the Federal Reserve Only Focus on Price Stability Rather Than Employment Too?
Argument in favor
The Federal Reserve’s dual mandate has led to a lot of experimentation with U.S. monetary policy during times when inflation wasn’t an issue, and that needs to be stopped before it causes unanticipated problems in financial markets. The Fed also shouldn’t be providing funding for the CFPB, which should be funded on either its own merits or not at all.
12/15/2016
Reducing unemployment is a valid and important goal, but is not optimally addressed by the federal reserve.
12/14/2016
The Federal Reserve needs to be accountable and this is a step in the right direction
Argument opposed
The actions of the Federal Reserve in the aftermath of the financial crisis in keeping interest rates low have given the American economy a chance to create jobs without higher interest rates stifling investment. That wouldn’t have happened without the dual mandate, so it should remain the Fed’s focus. The CFPB plays a vital role in protecting consumers and should be fully funded.
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12/14/2016
Certainly not. The dual mandate of the Federal Reserve has ensured greater economic stability than would have occurred. Focusing solely on price stability made an otherwise mild recession into the full-blown Great Depression. Keep the dual mandate. Keep political interference away from the Fed. Let the Fed do its job of ensuring adequate liquidity.
12/14/2016
The Federal Reserve has moved itself into the "shadows" of big government escaping scrutiny. A relic of the past that we can live without. End the FED!
Certainly not. The dual mandate of the Federal Reserve has ensured greater economic stability than would have occurred. Focusing solely on price stability made an otherwise mild recession into the full-blown Great Depression. Keep the dual mandate. Keep political interference away from the Fed. Let the Fed do its job of ensuring adequate liquidity.
The Fed should be stopped altogether. It should not exist. Its purpose is literally to intentionally make money worth less, through inflation, to try to discourage saving. They exist to scare you into spending. Their entire strategy is "spend your money today, because we'll inflate it and make it worth less tomorrow!" Since the Fed was created the dollar has lost something like 90% of its buying power. It must be ended. The experiment in central banking has been a clear abysmal failure. Their fiat money makes everyone's savings worth less by the day, all while essentially printing money to fund the government's continued expansion of power and corruption and bureaucracy. End the Fed.
The Federal Reserve has moved itself into the "shadows" of big government escaping scrutiny. A relic of the past that we can live without. End the FED!
This is an important tidbit. This bill would essentially eliminate consumer protections: "Funding that goes from the Federal Reserve Board to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) would be eliminated and so would the CFPB fund." Vote NO.
Ending the Federal Reserve's monopoly on money is the key to restoring and maintaining our liberty and prosperity.
The fed should not exist. Centralization of the banking system is counter productive to competition and does not help the consumer.
The dual mandate serves a purpose. It isn't just an empty couple of principles. Rising inflation, lack of price stability, and rising employment are both useful metric to track the health of the economy. Rising inflation and low unemployment, along with consumer confidence, international markets, and other metrics, tell the board to consider raising the funds rate. This shrinks the money supply and helps stabilize prices, preventing over-investment and runaway inflation. Why limit the economic scope of the most powerful group in the United States?
It's the super rich running that bank printing money out of think air and we the people paying interest on it. It's devaluating our currency. Please end it!
This is not a positive negative! The Fed should do neither! If we're looking to employ bad economists, ok have a Fed. But, they could deliver pizzas! End the Fed!
We must not let partisan politics change the way the fed is run. Keep them independent and let them do their job.
Employment is just as important as price stability in maintaining a healthy economy.
Given the stalemate of the Federal government for the past 8 years (i.e. Congressional failure to act) only the Fed has focused on full employment as a national goal. And they have been pretty successful. Changing their mandate would seem the height of Congressional folly.
Maximizing employment is a critical function of monetary policy and therefore, the federal reserve. Congress should allow economists at the Fed to keep objectives that promote a healthy economy. By forcing the Fed to ignore employment, congress may handicap one of the United States' most effective economic tools.
The Federal Reserve needs to be accountable and this is a step in the right direction
Reducing unemployment is a valid and important goal, but is not optimally addressed by the federal reserve.