Volcker's Federal Reserve is the story of an institution that would not give into shortsighted political pressure. Instead, it focused on doing what was right for the American people in the long-term, even if it made it the enemy of many... …that approach enforced upon the Federal Reserve an internal discipline that had been lacking: we could not back away from our newfound emphasis on restraining the growth in the money supply without risking a damaging loss of credibility that, once lost, would be hard to restore. To overdramatize a bit, we were doomed to follow through. We were "lashed to the mast" in pursuit of price stability. Did I realize at the time how high interest rates might go before we could claim success? No. From today's vantage point, was there a better path? Not to my knowledge - not then or now... Just months before Carter's malaise speech and Volcker's appointment to the Fed Chair, his predecessor at the Fed, Arthur F. Burn's traveled to Belgrade to deliver the..
Also known as: Federal Reserve