Steve Forbes Questions for Jerome Powell and the Federal Reserve

Critical Questions for the Federal Reserve

• ❓ Reporters should ask fundamental questions about the Federal Reserve's assumptions regarding money and economic policy, beyond routine topics like interest rates and tariffs.
• 💡 Key questions should be directed to Fed Chair Jerome Powell and nominees like Michelle Bowman, probing the underlying logic of their decisions.

The Paradoxes of Monetary Policy

• 📈 Why is prosperity believed to cause inflation, and how does increasing unemployment combat inflation?
• 🎯 Why does the Fed attempt to suppress or stimulate economic activity, and is manipulating interest rates the best method for influencing economic levels?
• 💰 Just as rent controls distort real estate markets, does manipulating interest rates distort credit markets, considering interest is the price of renting money?

The Role of Currency Value and Money Supply

• ⚖️ What is the importance of a stable dollar, as money should measure value like a clock measures time or a scale measures weight?
• 📉 Why is the concept of monetary inflation defined as a reduction in currency value, leading to more currency needed to buy goods?
• 📊 What role do measures of the money supply, such as M2, play in determining monetary policy?

Assessment of Past Policies

• 🔍 What was the purpose of Quantitative Easing (QE), and how effective was it? Would the Fed consider doing it again?
• 💸 Did the prolonged period of low or zero interest rates facilitate massive government borrowing at minimal cost?
• 💥 Was QE a contributing factor to the significant global explosion of public and private debt?
• 🥇 What are the objections to a gold standard, given that inflation was not an issue when it was adhered to?