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Let’s Be Honest: Jerome Powell’s Ok
Did you watch Jerome Powell's 60 Minutes interview? If not, don't fret: It was only worth watching if you weren't otherwise apprised of developments at the Eccles building.
60 Minutes interviews are designed to reach a wider audience than, say, an address to The Economic Club of New York or a post-FOMC meeting press conference. Powell said precisely nothing new during his lengthy sit down with Scott Pelley. Still, I felt compelled to offer a short review on Monday, lest I should be judged someh
“Integrity” says the fed with the recent trading scandal
I think “scandal” vastly overstates the gravity of the “allegations” you’re referring to. Also, that’s just the sort of cheap punchline I go out of my way to eschew because it’s unimaginative and generally elicits eye-rolls.
Let me put it this way: If you think those trades constitute a “scandal,” then my God: I hope you never get a look inside a big bank.
Alternatively, if you’ve ever worked inside a big bank, then you know those Fed trades aren’t a proper “scandal” and you’re just being abrasive for the sake of it. Which is fine. As noted in the article, I made a career of being abrasive for the sake of it in another life.
But when you’ve got actual, real scandals going on all day, every day, at every bank, and when the American public’s treated every week to allegations like those made against George Santos and Bob Menendez, I think it’s fair to say that a guy like Jerome Powell is ok. Until proven otherwise.
Sorry, but if it came out tomorrow that Loretta Mester bought $30,000 worth of SPY ahead of a Fed rate cut, I wouldn’t be bothered by it. Not at all. Not with everything I’ve seen and certainly not in the context of the myriad grave injustices foisted upon innocents all around the world. If you’re sitting at a stoplight at 2 AM on a completely empty road, and it stays red for longer than, say, 90 seconds, would you run it? Probably. And if you did, you’d be in breach of the social contract. Was anyone harmed? No.
Multiple million dollar trades by voting members of the Federal Reserve, but they’re not as bad as banks….how reassuring.
Its OK though, the Fed is investigating it themselves. I’m going to go run a red light to get even with the system!
Ridiculous. Spoiler alert: Every time you step outside your door, somebody’s trying to get one up on you. And whether you realize it or not, you’re doing the same thing to other people. That’s life. The sooner you accept it, the easier you’ll sleep (counterintuitively).
No reasonable person will consider you “derelict” in your “second act.”
Powell is a good guy w/ an even higher bar. That’s probably why it’s tough for him to hide the emotional pain he’s experienced as Fed Chair.
I wondered why the Biden folks pushed him to go on TV–obviously Powell didn’t come up w/ the idea. You captured the sound bite Biden’s handlers wanted Powell to deliver. Still unconvinced it was wise to push Powell onto 60 minutes.
Sounds like a conspiracy theory to me….
The Federal Reserve being told what to do??!
Anyone with a halfway decent BS detector can see that Powell is an earnest person trying to do a good job in an extraordinarily difficult job. Which makes the Trump phenomenon all that more bizarre.
Powell is a good guy, with a relatively (at least) high level of integrity, doing pretty well at a very difficult job. Probably why he wouldn’t be reappointed by a certain candidate (about whom little of the same can be said)…
Probably? There’s a 0.000% chance Trump would renominate Powell. There’s a > 0% chance Trump would fire Powell. Finally, I suspect there’s a 0% (rounded) chance that Powell would accept a third term at the job in a Trump administration were it somehow offered. Frankly, I have to imagine he’s unlikely to be too enamored of the idea of a third term regardless of who sits in the oval office.
His term ends May 2026, I think. I imagine his most earnest wish is to have solidly planted inflation back at 2% without a recession, then retire and join the Central Banker pantheon, which he’ll deserve if that is what transpires.
I think Powell is your classic old school public servant, and that is meant in an approving sense.
I missed the interveiw, was watching the Grammy Awards. The Federal Funds Rate won an award for a song called “Then I Got High.” Even Jay-Z seemed to approve.
I agree, this is a thankless task and J Powell has done his best; inflation from pandemic supply chain disruptions and a profligate government was and is a difficult problem to solve.
Without belaboring this, our times at a certain small investment bank overlapped a bit. The culture was very interesting, and I look back with a lot of gratitude. Jay Powell is a throwback to a pretty good era for Wall Street partnerships. I was surprised Trump appointed him- they could not be more incompatible..Put simply, Jay Powell is decent and competent. Trump is a scumbag. Our politics are toxic, so I am sorry to go there, but this needs to be said.