My latest, out this morning, is on the Federal Reserve and inequality. I argue that it is appropriate for the Fed chair to discuss inequality “as an impartial, dispassionate analyst,” but not to go outside of that role.
Because these questions [whether the rich-poor gap is of great concern and whether it is incompatible with American values] are fundamentally moral questions, their deliberation and resolution properly belong to the political process. This process has many participants — elected officials, public intellectuals, clergy, academics, advocacy groups, pundits and many more. But the Fed chair should most certainly not be among them, for at least three reasons.
You can read the entire op-ed here.
My last column covers similar ground, but goes into Janet Yellen’s speech in more detail, including a criticism of her nudge on expanding pre-K.
About a year and a half after he was elected pope, Benedict XVI — formerly a professor of theology and a top Vatican official — gave a speech at his former university in which he quoted an unfavorable remark about Islam uttered by a 14th-century Byzantine emperor. Street protests erupted across the Muslim world. The Holy Father learned quickly that there are things a theologian and cardinal can say that a pope shouldn’t. It seems that Janet Yellen — formerly a professor of economics and top Fed official — still must learn that part of the loneliness of the throne is often not lending voice to thought.
You can read that column here.
— Michael R. Strain is a resident scholar and economist at the American Enterprise Institute. You can follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/MichaelRStrain.