The mandate of the Federal Reserve is relatively
straightforward: maximise employment, keep prices stable, and
moderate long-term interest rates. Its mission statement, too,
is unassuming: "The Federal Reserve, the central bank of the
United States, provides the nation with a safe, flexible, and
stable monetary and financial system."
This month, however, its obligation has been called into
question by one of its own. Bill Dudley, president of the New
York Fed until 2018, published an op-ed in Bloomberg calling
for the central bank to deviate from its normal course and step
into the electoral arena.
Dudley suggests that the Fed should refuse President
Trump's...