For the vast majority of families, it's been a long time since they've seen a meaningful raise.
We are certainly trying to put in place a set of incentives that will reduce the systemic footprint and risk of firms.
I would be concerned about something that was a large fiscal shift.
Policies or governmental actions that create uncertainty...are not helpful to recovery.
The results were predictable--incomes grew at the very top, but stagnated for everyone else.
During the crisis and recession, families in the middle and at the bottom were hit particularly hard.
We clearly want to see continued improvement in the labor market, and we want to do nothing that would threaten that.
So, of course, there are risks to the recovery of tightening too soon, and we have been highly focused on those risks.
My own preference would be to be able to proceed to tighten in a prudent and gradual manner...
It is very important for there to be a long-term debt requirement.
So I would push back against the notion that we are unduly affected by the ups and downs of the stock market.