Viewpoints Explained: The Showdown At The Federal Reserve

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President Donald Trump has been publicly clashing with the federal reserve and has made it clear he wants a different person in charge. The president has repeatedly criticized current fed chair Jerome Powell arguing that interest rates should be lower and that the fed’s apprehensive approach is holding back economic growth.

That tension shines a light on topics that most people don’t think about very often: the broad power the fed has to shape our economy, and how its strategy can shift with the views of its leader. At its core, it’s the nation’s central bank. Its job is to keep the economy stable by balancing inflation and employment, mostly by setting interest rates. When inflation runs high, the fed raises rates to cool things down. Borrowing money becomes more expensive, making people and businesses less likely to spend. The drop off in demand can help bring prices down. On the other end, when the economy slows too much, the fed can lower rates to encourage spending and hiring.

What makes this organization different from other government agencies is its free range. The chair and board aren’t elected, and they’re designed to operate independent of politics. That separation is intentional to help protect long-term economic decisions from any short-term political pressure.

That’s why some critics are fearful that the strong-arm approach of the trump administration to try and remove Jerome Powell could end up doing more harm. Disputes between presidents and the fed aren’t just political drama. They raise a basic question about how much influence the white house should have over the economy’s most powerful levers, particularly when those levers can be manipulated for a quick economic win at the cost of future stability.

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