Fresh Attack on Fed Move
WASHINGTON—The Federal Reserve's latest attempt to boost the U.S. economy is coming under fire from Republican economists and politicians, threatening to yank the central bank deeper into partisan politics.
A group of prominent Republican-leaning economists, coordinating with Republican lawmakers and political strategists, is launching a campaign this week calling on Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke to drop his plan to buy $600 billion in additional U.S. Treasury bonds.
"The planned asset purchases risk currency debasement and inflation, and we do not think they will achieve the Fed's objective of promoting employment," they say in an open letter to be published as ads this week in The Wall Street Journal and the New York Times.
The economists have been consulting Republican lawmakers, including incoming House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, and began discussions with potential GOP presidential candidates over the weekend, according to a person involved.
The increasingly loud criticism of the Fed comes as some economic officials outside the U.S. are criticizing the central bank's move to effectively print money, which has the side effect of pushing down the dollar on world currency markets. President Barack Obama last week defended the Fed. The move to buy more bonds, known as quantitative easing, "was designed to grow the economy," not cheapen the dollar, he said.
…
Signers of the new manifesto criticizing the Fed include: Stanford University economists Michael Boskin, who was chairman of President George H. W. Bush's Council of Economic Advisers and John Taylor, a monetary-policy scholar who served in both Bush administrations; Kevin Hassett of the conservative American Enterprise Institute; Douglas Holtz-Eakin, former Congressional Budget Office director and adviser to John McCain's presidential campaign; David Malpass, a former Bear Stearns and Reagan Treasury economist who made an unsuccessful run for a U.S. Senate seat from New York; and William Kristol, editor of the Weekly Standard and a board member of e21, a new conservative think tank seeking a more unified conservative view on economic policy.
…
Last Tuesday evening, about 20 economists and others met over sea bass at the University of Pennsylvania Club in Manhattan and hashed out a broad strategy. Mr. Ryan, who has gained notice for a plan to balance the federal budget through deep spending cuts, joined the group as they discussed ways to encourage the GOP's new House majority to unite behind what they describe as a "sound money policy."
"We talked about the importance of the right being outspoken and unified on this," said a participant. Mr. Ryan couldn't be reached Sunday.
Over the weekend, organizers began discussions with possible GOP presidential candidates, including former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich. On Tuesday, Mr. Boskin and another signer, Paul Singer, head of hedge fund Elliott Management, will brief GOP governors at a conference in San Diego.
…
Signatories to the letter criticizing the Fed insisted they aren't trying to undercut the central bank's independence.
"It's fair to have a public debate about what the right monetary policy is," Mr. Holtz-Eakin said. "I'm a long way away from being comfortable with the idea of the Congress running monetary policy."
For the full article, visit The Wall Street Journal.