PBS高端访谈:前美联储主席去世（在线收听）

JUDY WOODRUFF: And former Federal Reserve Chair Paul Volcker died today. His passing came 40 years after he drove interest rates to record highs to tame double-digit inflation. Economics correspondent Paul Solman looks back at Volcker's life and work.

PAUL SOLMAN: At 6'7'', Paul Volcker was known as tall Paul. And, indeed, he towered over economic policy for more than 60 years. President Jimmy Carter chose Volcker to head the Federal Reserve in 1979, when the U.S. faced runaway inflation. To bring prices under control, Volcker, never without a cigar, choked off the money supply, driving up interest rates to discourage lending and borrowing. Volcker defended the policy on The MacNeil/Lehrer Report in 1981.

PAUL VOLCKER, Former Federal Reserve Chairman: The way you're going to get those interest rates down is by persisting in policies that will indeed continue to bring the inflation rate down. And at some point, this dam is going to break and the psychology is going to change.

PAUL SOLMAN: And sky-high interest rates, he figured, would have the desired effect, as they did, but caused deep recession and unemployment that reached nearly 11 percent. Homebuilders sent Volcker their protests scrolled on wooden planks. But Volcker stood tall.

PAUL VOLCKER: You can't deal with that problem by simply saying, we're going to let inflation go ahead.

PAUL SOLMAN: Volcker's policies may have cost Carter the 1980 election. But in a statement released today, the one-term president said: Although some of his policies as Fed chairman were politically costly, they were the right thing to do. By 1983, inflation had come down dramatically, and President Ronald Reagan reappointed Volcker, a lifelong Democrat, as Fed chair. But the two soon clashed over the growing federal deficit, which Volcker feared might reignite inflation. Volcker left the Fed in 1987. His last legacy, advising President Obama after the 2008 financial crisis, pressing to restrict commercial banks from making risky investments, a controversial reform known as the Volcker rule. For the NewsHour, this is Paul Solman.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Paul Volcker was 92 years old.

朱迪·伍德拉夫：美联储前主席保罗·沃尔克今日离世。40年前，他将利率提到了历史新高，又效控制了两位数的通货膨胀。下面请听经济类记者保罗·索尔曼发回的有关沃尔克工作与生活的报道。

保罗·索尔曼：他有6英尺7英寸高，高高的保罗·沃尔克为世人所知。确实，60多年来，他在经济政策方面的建树惊人。1979年，总统吉米·卡特任命沃尔克担任美联储主席，那时候，美国的通货膨胀已经失控。为了控制物价，沃尔克在无数只烟的陪伴下阻止了货币供应，提高了利率，从而减少了资金的借入和借出。1981年，沃尔克强推关于麦克尼尔/莱勒报告的政策。

保罗·沃尔克，前美联储主席：你们让利率降低的方式是坚持一些政策，而这些政策其实会继续让通胀率下降。在某些节点，这个堤坝会倒塌，心理也会发生改变。

保罗·索尔曼：沃尔克表示，居高不下的利率是会实现一些期望的成效，也确实实现了这样的成效，但会引发深度的经济衰退，导致失业率已接近11%。一些住宅建筑商强烈抗议沃尔克的做法，但沃尔克依然不屈服。

保罗·沃尔克：你们一直坚持说会让通会膨胀保持下去，但这样根本不能解决问题。

保罗·索尔曼：沃尔克的政策可能会毁掉1980年卡特的选举。但在今天发布的一份声明中，这个只有过一届任期的总统说：虽然沃尔克担任美联储主席期间的一些政策代价高昂，但他那样做是正确的。1983年的时候，通胀已经降低了许多，总统里根再次任命沃尔克为美联储主席。沃尔克一辈子都是民主党议员。但这2个人很快就在愈演愈烈的财政赤字问题上出现了意见分歧，关于这个问题，沃尔克担心会再次引发通货膨胀。1987年，沃尔克离开了美联储。他留下的最后一样财富就是在2008年金融风暴过去之后建议总统奥巴马：要施加压力，从而限制商业银行做风险投资，这是一项备受争议的改革，大家称之为沃尔克规则。感谢收听保罗·索尔曼发回的《新闻一小时》。

朱迪·伍德拉夫：保罗·沃尔克享年92岁。