Political Quotes

“Madam President, over the past 5 years the Federal Reserve has pursued unconventional and unprecedented monetary policy. As Vice chair of the Fed, Janet Yellen has been a strong proponent of these policies. As chair, she is likely to continue these same easy- money policies with the same, if not more, vigor as her predecessor. I have deep concerns about the long-term effects of pursuing these policies. Historical evidence suggests that failing to rein in easy- money policies on a timely basis risks fueling an economic bubble or even hyperinflation. It is true that one of the lessons learned from the Great Depression was that an overly tight monetary policy in a recession risks economic debilitating deflation. Thus, understandably, when the recession hit in 2008 the Fed sought to avoid the mistakes of the past by lowering interest rates to encourage investment. However, this expansionary monetary policy cannot continue into perpetuity without causing real and lasting damage to our economy. Just as we should not repeat the mistakes of the Great Depression, we need to be careful not to repeat the mistakes that fueled our recent recession. Let us not forget that our current economic stagnation began with the bursting of the housing bubble in late 2007--a housing bubble fueled by rampant speculation that was driven, in part by historically low interest rates maintained by the Fed between 2001 and 2004.…”