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cover of episode Why The Federal Reserve's Power Is 'Limitless'

Why The Federal Reserve's Power Is 'Limitless'

2023/3/2
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FiveThirtyEight Politics
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G
Galen Druk
J
Jeanna Smialek
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Galen Druk: 本期节目讨论了美联储的权力及其对美国社会的影响。美联储作为美国中央银行，拥有设定利率、维持金融稳定和应对金融危机的权力。然而，美联储的权力也引发了对其问责制和潜在政治操纵的担忧。 Jeanna Smialek: 美联储的权力在过去一个世纪的危机中不断积累，使其能够选择美国市场和社会的赢家和输家。如果党派忠诚者进入美联储董事会，这种权力可能会被滥用。美联储的独立性旨在使其能够做出不受政治影响的宏观经济决策，但其在危机时期干预市场的能力也引发了担忧。美联储拥有大规模购买政府支持债券和向各种实体提供贷款的权力，这使得其能够在危机时期对经济施加巨大影响，并可能选择经济领域的赢家和输家。2020年疫情期间，美联储的权力得到了前所未有的运用，这引发了对其权力边界和问责制的讨论。 Jeanna Smialek: 对美联储的批评主要来自两个方面：一是其在2020年危机后购买债券的时间过长，加剧了通货膨胀；二是其量化宽松政策加剧了财富不平等。然而，美联储的决策需要考虑其所处的经济环境，例如，在长期低通胀后试图创造适度通胀。快速提高利率可以迅速控制通货膨胀，但也会导致经济放缓和失业。美联储面临的挑战是如何在控制通货膨胀和维持经济增长之间取得平衡。美联储的权力和问责制问题需要进一步讨论，以确保其能够在维护经济稳定的同时，避免政治操纵和滥用权力。

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The Federal Reserve, America's central bank, plays a crucial role in macroeconomic policy setting, bank regulation, and crisis management. Despite its significant impact on American life, many are unaware of its functions.

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American government is designed to have components that are not directly accountable to the public. The Supreme Court is probably the most recognizable example, but it’s not the only one. In her new book, “Limitless: The Federal Reserve Takes On A New Age Of Crisis,” New York Times reporter Jeanna Smialek focuses on another unelected institution with a lot of power over American life: the Federal Reserve.

In this installment of the FiveThirtyEight Politics podcast, Smialek argues that over the past century, through successive crises, the Fed has accumulated the power to choose winners and losers across American markets and society on the whole. And if partisan loyalists were to make their way onto the Fed board, that degree of power could be abused.

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