There is a reshuffling underway at the Federal Reserve

搜索

复制

There is a reshuffling underway at the Federal Reserve

Transcript¹

NPR's Rachel Martin talks to David Wessel of the Brookings Institution about President Biden expected to announce soon his choices to fill the three openings on the Fed Reserve Board.

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

There is a reshuffling underway at the top of the Federal Reserve. The U.S. central banking² system faces big questions about how to steer³ the economy through a burst of inflation and the persistent⁴ disruptions to labor⁵ markets and supply chains caused by the pandemic. President Biden has three slots to fill on the seven-member Fed board in Washington. And two of the 12 regional Fed banks are looking for new presidents.

For more, we turn, as we often do, to David Wessel. He is director of the Hutchins Center at the Brookings Institution.

Good morning, David.

DAVID WESSEL, BYLINE⁶: Good morning, Rachel.

MARTIN: Who is President Biden thinking about for those three board vacancies⁷?

WESSEL: Well, we've been expecting the White House to announce the nominees⁸ any day now since the beginning of December. The betting is that the president's going to pick Sarah Bloom Raskin to be vice⁹ chair for bank supervision¹⁰. She's a lawyer, former Fed governor, deputy treasury¹¹ secretary and is sure to be much tougher on the banks than her predecessor¹², a Trump¹³ appointee, Randy Quarles. And that's a priority both for the White House and many congressional Democrats¹⁴.

For the other two spots, well-sourced reporters say the White House is looking at two academics - Lisa Cook of Michigan State and Phil Jefferson, who's now dean of faculty¹⁵ at Davidson College. Both of them are Black. So if these three are nominated, and confirmed by the Senate, of course, the Fed board will for the first time have more women than men and more than one Black governor.

MARTIN: So thinking about inflation, what difference do these changes mean - these personnel changes mean - for the interest rates that the Fed sets?

WESSEL: Actually, not much - new governors tend to follow the lead of the chair. And, of course, President Biden has renominated Jay Powell for a second term. His confirmation¹⁶ hearing at the Senate is tomorrow. And by the time these three are seated, the Fed probably will have set its tentative course for 2022.

Now, you know, the Fed has been surprised by the persistence¹⁷ of price increases and by the reluctance¹⁸ of millions of people to return to the workforce¹⁹. So financial markets have shifted quite a bit. And they now anticipate the Fed will lift rates from zero, where they've been since the pandemic began in March, and will lift them two or three times more during 2022. I think one task the Biden appointees might face is explaining to progressives in the public just why the Fed is raising interest rates - taking its foot off the monetary²⁰ accelerator, if you will - even though so many people will still probably be hurting from the pandemic in 2022.

MARTIN: So, David, what drove the Fed to speed up its timetable for raising interest rates? And does it risk triggering a recession if it goes too far?

WESSEL: Well, inflation is running well above the Fed's 2% target - 5.7% in the past year, by its favored measure. And even though inflation is likely to abate²¹ as kinks in the supply chain are worked out, Fed officials worry that too long a period with scary headlines about inflation could really lead people to expect higher inflation going forward, and that could become a self-fulfilling prophecy. At the same time, the Fed thinks that with unemployment down to 3.9% and so many unfilled job openings, we're very close to what they call maximum employment.

But I think there are a couple of risks here. One is they wait too long. We get too much inflation. They have to really jack²² up interest rates. That could cause a recession. But the other is that they are too mesmerized²³ by today's inflation readings. They tighten²⁴ monetary policy just as the economy slows - less federal spending coming into the economy. And that too could trigger an unwelcome recession. So it's a very delicate balancing act they face right now.

MARTIN: David Wessel, we always appreciate when you come on. We appreciate you - director of the Hutchins Center on Fiscal²⁵ and Monetary Policy at the Brookings Institution. Thanks.

WESSEL: You're welcome.

(SOUNDBITE OF SUFF DADDY'S "LAMBORARRI")

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 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。

3 steer   

vt.驾驶，为…操舵；引导；vi.驾驶

参考例句：

• If you push the car, I'll steer it.如果你来推车，我就来驾车。
• It's no use trying to steer the boy into a course of action that suits you.想说服这孩子按你的方式行事是徒劳的。

4 persistent   

adj.坚持不懈的，执意的；持续的

参考例句：

• Albert had a persistent headache that lasted for three days.艾伯特连续头痛了三天。
• She felt embarrassed by his persistent attentions.他不时地向她大献殷勤，使她很难为情。

5 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

6 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

7 vacancies   

n.空房间( vacancy的名词复数 )；空虚；空白；空缺

参考例句：

• job vacancies 职位空缺
• The sign outside the motel said \"No Vacancies\". 汽车旅馆外的招牌显示“客满”。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 nominees   

n.被提名者，被任命者( nominee的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She's one of the nominees. 她是被提名者之一。 来自超越目标英语 第2册
• A startling number of his nominees for senior positions have imploded. 他所提名的高级官员被否决的数目令人震惊。 来自互联网

9 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

10 supervision   

n.监督，管理

参考例句：

• The work was done under my supervision.这项工作是在我的监督之下完成的。
• The old man's will was executed under the personal supervision of the lawyer.老人的遗嘱是在律师的亲自监督下执行的。

11 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。

12 predecessor   

n.前辈，前任

参考例句：

• It will share the fate of its predecessor.它将遭受与前者同样的命运。
• The new ambassador is more mature than his predecessor.新大使比他的前任更成熟一些。

13 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

14 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 faculty   

n.才能；学院，系；(学院或系的)全体教学人员

参考例句：

• He has a great faculty for learning foreign languages.他有学习外语的天赋。
• He has the faculty of saying the right thing at the right time.他有在恰当的时候说恰当的话的才智。

16 confirmation   

n.证实，确认，批准

参考例句：

• We are waiting for confirmation of the news.我们正在等待证实那个消息。
• We need confirmation in writing before we can send your order out.给你们发送订购的货物之前，我们需要书面确认。

17 persistence   

n.坚持，持续，存留

参考例句：

• The persistence of a cough in his daughter puzzled him.他女儿持续的咳嗽把他难住了。
• He achieved success through dogged persistence.他靠着坚持不懈取得了成功。

18 reluctance   

n.厌恶，讨厌，勉强，不情愿

参考例句：

• The police released Andrew with reluctance.警方勉强把安德鲁放走了。
• He showed the greatest reluctance to make a reply.他表示很不愿意答复。

19 workforce   

n.劳动大军，劳动力

参考例句：

• A large part of the workforce is employed in agriculture.劳动人口中一大部分受雇于农业。
• A quarter of the local workforce is unemployed.本地劳动力中有四分之一失业。

20 monetary   

adj.货币的，钱的；通货的；金融的；财政的

参考例句：

• The monetary system of some countries used to be based on gold.过去有些国家的货币制度是金本位制的。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

21 abate   

vi.(风势，疼痛等)减弱，减轻，减退

参考例句：

• We must abate the noise pollution in our city.我们必须消除我们城里的噪音污染。
• The doctor gave him some medicine to abate the powerful pain.医生给了他一些药，以减弱那剧烈的疼痛。

22 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

23 mesmerized   

v.使入迷( mesmerize的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The country girl stood by the road, mesmerized at the speed of cars racing past. 村姑站在路旁被疾驶而过的一辆辆车迷住了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• My 14-year-old daughter was mesmerized by the movie Titanic. 我14岁的女儿完全被电影《泰坦尼克号》迷住了。 来自互联网

24 tighten   

v.(使)变紧；(使)绷紧

参考例句：

• Turn the screw to the right to tighten it.向右转动螺钉把它拧紧。
• Some countries tighten monetary policy to avoid inflation.一些国家实行紧缩银根的货币政策，以避免通货膨胀。

25 fiscal   

adj.财政的，会计的，国库的，国库岁入的

参考例句：

• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。
• The government has two basic strategies of fiscal policy available.政府有两个可行的财政政策基本战略。