The Federal Reserve has always been a secretive organization. They have often argued (with justification in some cases) that with greater transparency would come less power. In other words their policies require that no one actually knows what they are doing. This makes sense in many respects. But calls for more openness have occurred as the years have gone by.
They have a branch (called the FOMC) that meets regularly to determine Monetary Policy. Once upon a time it was months before they even disclosed what was talked about in that meeting. Then they changed the rules that ended up reducing the time of disclosure. Now there are greater calls for openness (and many are asking for auditing the Fed) and it appears as if they have changed the rules once again.
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I believe the Fed should have been more open and people should have been aware of what was going on. It is the people's money that the Fed is handling. People should know what is happening with their money. I understand that there are reasons to keep some items confidential but the fact that it has garnered a reputation for secrecy while handling people's money and having the economy hang in the balance is somewhat worrisome.
ReplyDeleteNowadays, they seems to be more willing to disclose issues which is good. They should keep it up.
-Anthony Fratto
MWF 9-9:50
Zhao Liu
ReplyDeleteMWF 9-9:50
When the Feds disclose more about their monetary policy objectives, they are being more effective. From the economic's perspective, when the Fed tells everyone about raising interest rates, for example, people starts reacting before the Fed does and causes interest rate to raise. When the Fed tells everyone that the interest rates will increase, people starts putting money in banks , and the money supply of the economy decreases. As a result, interest rates increase. So telling everyone about the expected future interest rate actually causes the market to act that way without doing anything. Of course, this only happens in the free market.
Katelyn Frueh
ReplyDeleteMWF, 10-10:50
I think it is absolutely in reason that the public be aware of the decisions the Fed is making. The only instance where I can see and understand an explicitly private gathering in the government scope would be the Supreme Court's secluded decision bearing meetings...and even then, there is often a clear and visible outcome. Oftentime, it is the taxpayer's money that the Fed is spending...it seems only fair that if the taxpayer is trusted to pay money, the taxpayer should be trusted with the information that comes from these meetings. Sure, there will always be the uninformed Americans that think they know better than Bernanke. But I am of the opinion that the leaders of the Fed should not only assume the job of regular monetary policy but should also assume the roles of informing Americans on what exactly the problems are and how exactly they are planning to combat these problems. I think if there were more informed citizens during the housing crisis, there would have been a lot less rumors spread and more activists stepping up. Ultimately, I think there needs to be many more efforts than press conferences. There are divisions set up in the government whose specific role is to keep the public informed. Perhaps if each month, a notice or release was posted explaining what exactly is being discussed and potential problems that might occur, the system might be able to function more efficiently.
Nicholas Camaioni
ReplyDeleteMWF 9 - 10 AM
I believe that all forms of our government should exercise some level of transparency with the public and society as a whole. We should be aware of what the Fed is deciding to do with the Tax Dollars it takes from the hard-working people of this country. The decisions they make will have ripple affects that are felt at every level across the country. Once the information is presented to us through the various news outlets, it becomes the choice of the individual if they want to remain ignorant of this information or absorb it into their everyday life.
I believe that if more people were aware of what was happening with the economy on a daily basis in regards to the housing collapse, bank collapse, and automobile collapse, there could have been a chance we all would have been better prepared to equally shoulder the pain. Instead we are still reeling from the Recession with no clear idea when we are going to emerge from it. Once the healing begins to unfold at a comfortable pace, we need to step up and demand further transparency from all of the government entities that shape our daily lives.
Andrew Kearney
ReplyDeleteMWF 9-10 AM
Although they work as a secretive organization, it's imperative that the Feds keep the people informed to some extent. There's no reason to lie to them and keep them in the dark on such issues. Likewise, it's important that the people themselves make the effort to learn about their economy and participate in it as best they can. While the people don't have to necessarily know too much, they need to be aware of certain issues that pertain to them.
In many ways, these televised news conferences will be good for Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke. These quarterly conferences will help the population in their daily lives of economic struggle and make them feel as if they're participating in the economy. These "information sessions" could strengthen the economy and better people's understanding of how it operates.
Audit the fed. Preferably by an independent auditor. I don't understand why there isn't more transparency with American money. Why is there so much fear of an audit if there is nothing to hide? The Fed is constantly being criticized for the secrecy, let Congress exercise its constitutional rights and let the people see where their money is going.
ReplyDeleteCmac
MWF 9-950
I wonder why now the Fed is finally opening up to the public and why this hasn't been much of a controversial issue in the past. I believe that in order to avoid suspicion and distrust, the government needs to be open and honest with its citizens, specifically when it comes to financial issues. The Fed's withholding of information makes it seem like they are doing something illegal or immoral. There should be greater transparency with our money, especially now, in a time of great economic despair.
ReplyDeleteJulia Held
Samantha Anderson
ReplyDeleteMWF 9-9:50
I feel that the Fed absolutely needs to be more open about decisions they are making. Considering and understanding that the Fed does have access and use of people's money makes it all the more reason that individuals should be informed. Press conferences are definitely a step up and a good move forward. Every step counts in order to change the way the Fed operates. As mentioned above people also need to become informed and knowledgeable about how the economy operates.
I definitely think that the Fed should be more open with the public. Although they have always been a more secretive organization, I believe that they need to inform people on current issues and decisions they are discussing now more than ever. It is their money that the Fed is dealing with and by hiding information from them, they make themselves seem suspicious. Also, people need to understand how they should be handling their money, especially during times when the economy is poor.
ReplyDeleteGabrielle Holak
MWF 10-10:50
Nicholas Poiron
ReplyDeleteMWF 10-10.50
I think that it is great that the fed will begin to be more open with the public and speak with the nation about the decisions that it has made. I think that although this may be a huge step for them though it seems as if they could do a lot more. These conferences will only take place four times a year, and then only after important decisions have been made. I think that they should hold more frequent conferences regarding economic policy and should also hold these conferences in regards to policy that they are trying to implement. I think that if in addition to telling the nation what they have done and why, they should be telling the nation what they are thinking about doing and the policies that they are thinking about passing. I think that if this happened we would see a much higher instance of public approval, and get a better reaction from the people toward our government. I think that everyone would come out better for the situation.
Kudos to the Federal Reserve!
ReplyDeleteAfter 98 years in service, the Fed's believe now the American public are entitled of an explanation of how the banks, housing crisis is affecting our economy. Since the public is forcing the federal reserves to become accountable for their actions, the new faces of the federal reserves need to become more convincing to the public's concerns. Thank you Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke for allowing the American public to see/understand why and how decisions are being made by agreeing to have press conference four times a year, after a policy making meeting.
Terrie Hawkins
I believe it is true what this article said at the end. Bernake is more in the spotlight due to the economy and the public wants to know whats going on. The reports to the government 4 times a year is good but will it be effective is the question. When they report about the interest rates and banking decisions, how will this help the economic recession and will people gain or lose employment? The communication of the federal monetary policy is a great deal to the government.
ReplyDelete