Hillicon Valley - Roe reversal renews data privacy callsīernanke stressed, however, that the current Fed chairman, Jerome Powell, has “considerable support from both the White House and Congress” to bring down inflation, which has led the branch to be more independent. Burns and the Fed to avoid anti-inflation policies that might slow the economy,” Bernanke wrote.Įnergy & Environment - Climate regulations could be next in court crosshairs Nixon resigned in 1974, Congress continued to pressure Mr. Johnson’s temporary tax surcharge in 1968 failed to cool an overheated economy, allowing inflation to gain a toehold,” he added.īernanke also noted that former President Nixon, who was aiming for reelection in 1972, made it clear to Arthur Burns, Martin’s successor, “that he would not tolerate an economic slowdown before the election,” adding that Burns also did not make any significant progress in lowering inflation. Martin accordingly refrained from raising rates for a time, but Mr.
Johnson promised to raise taxes to pay for the war, and Mr. “President Lyndon Johnson, attempting to insulate the public from the economic costs of an unpopular war, put intense pressure on the Fed chairman, William McChesney Martin, to keep interest rates low,” Bernanke wrote. The former Federal Reserve chair said that inflation was met with “stiff political resistance” in the past, first using former President Lyndon Johnson as an example. Bernanke admitted that the current economic situation had some similarities to the past, such as heavy federal spending and shocks on global energy and food prices, but he wrote that there are critical differences as well.