This topic focuses on issues related to the U.S. Federal Reserve (The FED), its monetary policy action and its impact on the U.S. economy.
Monetary Policy (The FED)
Buckle up – The Economy Might Be a ‘Yellen’
WASHINGTON DC. Meet Janet Yellen. Janet Yellen was nominated by President Barack Obama in 2010 to be the Vice-Chair of the Federal Reserve. Yellen was confirmed by the Senate Banking Committee (56-26 vote, 11 Republicans confirming) in January 2014 to be the new Federal Reserve Chairman.
Thus far, Janet Yellen has substantially continued the same policies as former Chairman Ben Bernanke.
Politically speaking, Janet Yellen is further left (D) than Ben Bernanke – a Republican, but Bernanke’s policies moved more liberal when President Obama took office in January 2009. Our view is Obama pressured Bernanke to push for multi-trillion dollar stimulus programs that Congress or the voters would never support.
Yellen has reduced the FED stimulus programs slightly. Our view is that the stimulus has just been artificially inflating a pseudo economy, and is not without risk. We call it a pseudo economy because the only thing that really has been booming is the stock market. Despite jobs recovery gains, 57 percent of new jobs are low-wage, 20 percent of households have no job, household income is down, and average unemployment rate is higher under Obama.
REPORT: President Obama’s Economic Report Card