The Fed should have started curbing inflation last September. "
Fed chairman Jerome Powell has long been criticized for his approach to inflation, but this time Powell is facing collective bombardment from former colleagues, including former top two and three.
Richard Richard Clarida, former vice chairman of the Federal Reserve, said in a speech at Stanford University on Friday, according to the Wall Street Journal.The Fed needs to raise its benchmark federal interest rate to 3.5% or higher next year, deliberately slowing down economic growthTo bring soaring inflation under control. He served as vice chairman and governor of the Federal Reserve from August 2018 to January 2022.
He said that if inflation reached 3 per cent next year, the Fed would need to raise interest rates to 4 per cent and eventually bring inflation down to its target of 2 per cent.
Randal Quarles, vice-chairman of the Federal Reserve, who stepped down in October, released more direct and fierce criticism.
Bloomberg quoted Quarles as sayingThe Fed, which should have been curbing inflation since September, may now face a situation of controlling prices at the expense of the recession because it did not act in time.
Powell hinted on Wednesday that the current plan is to raise interest rates by another 50 basis points in June and July after raising interest rates by 50 basis points this week. He said he was not sure whether interest rates needed to be raised to dampen economic activity, but some former colleagues were more sure.
Alan Blinder, a former vice-chairman under Alan Greenspan, the Fed chairman, and William Dudley, a former chairman of the New York Federal Reserve, believe the US economy will suffer a recession.
Mr Blinder and Mr Dudley are joined by Jeffrey Lacker, chairman of the Richmond Fed from 2004 to 2017, and Charles Plosser, chairman of the Philadelphia Fed from 2006 to 2015.
Jeffrey Raquel, former Richmond Fed chairman, believes the Fed should now continue to raise interest rates by 50 basis points and consider raising them by 75 basis points.
"if they raise interest rates sharply, my feeling is that they have little chance of achieving a soft landing. "
Narayana Cocherakota, a former Minneapolis Fed chairman, sees the Fed as a reckless car driver. It took the initiative to turn in the wrong direction, and many drivers have made this mistake when crashing into a piece of ice. "
Powell said he was moving quickly to deal with the worst inflation in 40 years, but was criticized by former Fed officials for not doing enough.
Plosser said in an interview with Bloomberg:"it's their own problem."I don't know what Powell was doing 12 or 18 months ago."
Quarles even pointed the finger at Biden, saying the FOMC's response to inflation was too slow because the Biden administration wasted months to decide on the nominee.
"if there is a clear explanation, I think the Fed will act sooner. "
Harvard economist Robert Barro said on Friday that criticism from former colleagues was the sharpest and most widespread since the 1970s.
The late Federal Reserve chairmen Arthur Burns and G. William Miller were criticised by former colleagues for "simply not knowing how to deal with inflation", which soared to more than 10 per cent during their tenure.
Ethan Harris, head of global economics at Bank of America Corporation, said: "it's rare for the Fed not to stand up and say,'We made a mistake', but I think they know they've been waiting too long. "
"I think these criticisms are justified and probably helped the committee to rally opinions," he said, to step up efforts to fight inflation.
Edit / lydia