S.F. Fed President Says We Have To Rethink Flat Interest Rates
Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco president John Williams says the US economy is experiencing what’s become a new economic normal, and this norm neither strokes nor flames the economy to move forward.
The S.F. Fed president warns against policymaker's neutral interest rates, saying they're historically depressed, and is calling for governments to create a stronger fiscal backstop while central bankers move away from the policy of targeting low inflation, Bloomberg reports.
“We can wait for the next storm and hope for better outcomes or prepare for them now and be ready,” Williams wrote in his recent essay published by the San Francisco Fed. Williams worked alongside Fed Chair Janet Yellen when she was the S.F. Fed Chair. And though he is not a voting member of the Federal Open Market Committee, the economist is known for his expertise in natural interest rate. [Bloomberg]
