Economics

美联储与价格稳定

Mar 19, 2015 Robert Heller

旧金山—美联储维持“物价稳定”的使命（由联邦储备法明文规定）和美联储自己选择的2%通胀目标之间有一个极大的不同点。那么，决策者为何用后者代替前者呢？

“物价稳定”一词顾名思义是指一揽子商品今后十年、50年甚至100年价格都不会变。相反，如果一国以每年2%的通胀度过十年吗，那么今天100美元可以买到的东西，十年好需要花122美元购买。100年后，价格标签将变成724美元。

在最新的国会听证中，美联储主席耶伦数次提到保持“物价稳定”的使命，但提到美联储2%的通胀目标的次数是前者的两倍。“美国通胀仍低于委员会2%的目标，”她说，当前的“高度政策协调仍然有利于刺激劳动力市场条件进一步改善、促使通胀在中期回到2%。”

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0 Comments on this paragraph, 6 Comments on this article

Robert Bostick Mar 22, 2015

It's always the big debt holders the likes of Heller, Greenspan, Bernanke and now Yellen bend over backward to protect. None of them would dare admit that their mandate to " ... promote effectively the goals of maximum employment ... " conflicts with their interpretation of an acceptable rate of inflation. Their metrics for the latter are questionable and their advocacy of alternative solutions for the former are non-existent. Yet, unemployment and real income gains cannot be achieved with current policies.

The curious ask, why then does not the Fed revamp its policies since none are working to achieve maximum employment? For instance, it could inform the Administration and Congress of what Beardsley Ruml, then, President of the NY Federal Reserve Bank presented to the ABA in 1946, in his paper, "Taxes for Revenue are Obsolete".

Doing so, and coming from the Fed, would clear the air over the issues of deficit spending and financing the Federal budget.

Ruml, wrote, "Final freedom from the domestic money market exists for every sovereign national state where there exists an institution which functions in the manner of a modern central bank, and whose currency is not convertible into gold or into some other commodity.

The United States is a national state which has a central banking system, the Federal Reserve System, and whose currency, for domestic purposes, is not convertible into any commodity. It follows that our Federal Government has final freedom from the money market in meeting its financial requirements.

Accordingly, the inevitable social and economic consequences of any and all taxes have now become the prime consideration in the imposition of taxes. In general, it may be said that since all taxes have consequences of a social and economic character, the government should look to these consequences in formulating its tax policy. All federal taxes must meet the test of public policy and practical effect.

The public purpose which is served should never be obscured in a tax program under the mask of raising revenue.

By all odds, the most important single purpose to be served by the imposition of federal taxes is the maintenance of a dollar which has stable purchasing power over the years. Sometimes this purpose is stated as "the avoidance of inflation"; and without the use of federal taxation all other means of stabilization, such as monetary policy and price controls and subsidies, are unavailing. All other means, in any case, must be integrated with federal tax policy if we are to have tomorrow a dollar which has a value near to what it has today."

http://home.hiwaay.net/~becraft/RUMLTAXES.html

This the context in which today's Fed Chair should present its policy recommendations, not the stale and misleading screed about inflation targets.
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atul baride Mar 22, 2015

The Essential part of Inflation and inflation expectation is ' Cost Of Money' Which essentially is Missing in the FOMC Working. If We add that, US Inflation is Much more than Present Nos
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John Nicholas Mar 21, 2015

Either feeble-minded or deceitful. No mention of the Fed's post-1977 second mandated target: mitigating unemployment.
- Hugo Pezzoni Mar 23, 2015
  
  Strongly disagree with John. I think Robert Heller is pointing to what should be the only mandate for a central bank: inflation as close to zero as possible. The mandate granted to the Fed by Congress in 1977 was a mistake. Unemployment should be reduced by policies and programs enacted by the Federal Government and not by monetary policy. In essence unemployed persons should be assisted in order to improve their capabilities.
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Procyon Mukherjee Mar 21, 2015

How one-sided the suggestion that would make all wage inflation come to naught while the asset price inflation would move to the stratosphere !
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Erik Weholdt Tømte Mar 20, 2015

The author confuses price stability for a single good/service, with price stability for an ever changing basket of goods/services - changing over time due to preferences. This arguement would have held up prior to the industrial revolution, where prices were indeed stable. Hawks will be hawks.
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美联储与价格稳定

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