Federal Reserve Dallas Bank President Richard Fisher delivered his final speech as a member of the United States central bank. He spoke to a New York crowd about how the Fed should introduce a series of reforms that would help dispel the image that the Fed maintains a conflict of interest amid a revolving Washington-Wall Street-Federal Reserve door.
He recommended a number of changes as Congress gears up for another fight over the Audit the Fed legislation, which was reintroduced by Kentucky Republican Senator and potential 2016 presidential candidate Rand Paul. Here are his proposed changes to the central bank (via PFHub):
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The New York Fed’s permanent vote on policy should be rotated every two years.
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Transfer oversight of Wall Street financial institutions to supervisors from one of the other 11 district Fed banks.
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Six of the 12 regional Fed presidents should vote on monetary policy next to six Fed governors in Washington with the Fed chair having the tie-breaker vote.
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Utilize the Trimmed Mean PCE as an alternative to measuring inflation (it omits extreme volatile price points when it measures inflation numbers).
Fisher also noted that he supports a hike in interest rates this summer.
Since the general public can’t even identify Fed Chair Janet Yellen, the central bank will likely ignore his suggestions since they aren’t getting into trouble by citizens and instead move forward with the status quo. Even opponents of the Fed – Senator Elizabeth Warren – are against any sort of public intervention because any opposition is nothing but smoke and mirrors. Take a look at Warren’s finances.
Although the Audit the Fed bill isn’t the savior of our problems, at least it’s a start and wouldn’t likely politicize anything since it just gives us a glimpse into the inner workings of the Fed.
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