美国国家公共电台 NPR--Fed needed to raise rates because inflation is still too high, Bostic says

Fed needed to raise rates because inflation is still too high, Bostic says

Transcript¹

NPR's Steve Inskeep speaks with Raphael Bostic, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, about the Fed's decision to raise interest rates again.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

The Federal Reserve has two big jobs. It's supposed to keep inflation low and employment high. Behind those demands is a bigger, unspoken one - please don't crash the economy. The challenge went on display when the Fed raised interest rates to fight inflation and the higher rates became a factor in the collapse² of Silicon³ Valley Bank. Some analysts⁴ thought the Fed might stop raising rates, but the Fed did it again this week. Raphael Bostic can help us understand because he is president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, which means he took part in the Fed meeting that resulted in the interest rate hike.

Welcome to the program.

RAPHAEL BOSTIC: Hi, Steve. Good to be here.

INSKEEP: How much debate was there when you met?

BOSTIC: There was a lot of debate. Look, this wasn't a straightforward⁵ decision. But at the end of the day, what we decided⁶ was that there was clear signs that the banking⁷ system is sound and resilient and that the efforts that the Fed took with Treasury⁸ and the FDIC to deal with the difficulties of those banks seemed to be working. And with that as a backdrop, inflation is still too high. You know, we're at 6%, somewhere in that area. Our target is 2%. And so we needed to make sure that we stayed focused on that job because inflation is hurting pretty much all Americans.

INSKEEP: I'm thinking of the phrase tune⁹ out the noise. In your view, in the end, was the various issues that Silicon Valley Bank and other banks - the anxiety about the banking system, was that just noise then?

BOSTIC: No, there are real issues there. Look, the episode exposed a real hole in the insurance structure, namely that the structure doesn't cover a significant percentage of the money that businesses use to do basic things like cover payroll¹⁰. So that's a real issue. But that's a different issue than sort of the macro policy issue that we were dealing¹¹ with in terms of interest rates. And so since we were able to separate those, I think that allowed us to really stay focused on getting inflation back under control.

INSKEEP: Because you said there was debate, talk me through the other side of the debate. Not to quote other people other than yourself, but as you understood it, what was the case for doing nothing, for leaving interest rates where they were?

BOSTIC: Well, you know, the banking difficulty happened 10 days, just 10 days, before the meeting. And so there's a lot of uncertainty¹² about how banks are going to respond. And really, there's uncertainty still about the extent to which the things that we've done are going to completely protect the U.S. economy and the banking system. So some were willing to say, look, this uncertainty is really big, and we should wait. But I think - and, you know, I'm very comfortable with the idea - that we didn't see over the weekend before that meeting things getting worse. And that made me comfortable that we could manage through this.

INSKEEP: I want to review a little bit of history. In the 1970s and '80s, Paul Volcker, the Fed chairman, raised interest rates again and again and again to super high rates to kill the very bad inflation of that time. And of course, it's - you could say that the Fed caused a recession along the way - a very deep recession. Do you have to be willing to go that far, if necessary, or at least signal that you are willing to go that far, in order to kill inflation now?

BOSTIC: Well, two things. So one, we have to get inflation under control and back down to our target. That's incredibly important for the functioning of our economy and help businesses and families do what they need to do. And the second thing, circumstances are really different than what we saw in those days. But we are going to have to see demand come down. Inflation is high because there's more demand than supply. And one of the ways that you're going to see that demand come down is by seeing the economy slow down. I will say, I don't have as my baseline right now a recession at all. But I think if there is one, it will be nothing like - well, I'm hopeful that it will be nothing like what we saw in the early '80s.

INSKEEP: One of your tools, though, is my confidence that you're going to kill inflation no matter what, right? I mean, you need to be willing to say that.

BOSTIC: Well, that's important. And, you know, what we know is that when people expect inflation to be high, they do and act differently. And so we need people to have confidence that we're going to get this under control so they make the best long-term investments that give them the skills and the talents that allow this economy to be maximally productive.

INSKEEP: Raphael Bostic is president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.

Thanks so much.

BOSTIC: It was great to be here.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

3 silicon   

n.硅(旧名矽)

参考例句：

• This company pioneered the use of silicon chip.这家公司开创了使用硅片的方法。
• A chip is a piece of silicon about the size of a postage stamp.芯片就是一枚邮票大小的硅片。

4 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

5 straightforward   

adj.正直的，坦率的；易懂的，简单的

参考例句：

• A straightforward talk is better than a flowery speech.巧言不如直说。
• I must insist on your giving me a straightforward answer.我一定要你给我一个直截了当的回答。

6 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

7 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。

8 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

9 tune   

n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整

参考例句：

• He'd written a tune,and played it to us on the piano.他写了一段曲子，并在钢琴上弹给我们听。
• The boy beat out a tune on a tin can.那男孩在易拉罐上敲出一首曲子。

10 payroll   

n.工资表，在职人员名单，工薪总额

参考例句：

• His yearly payroll is $1.2 million.他的年薪是120万美元。
• I can't wait to get my payroll check.我真等不及拿到我的工资单了。

11 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

12 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。