Source: AP Photo/Andrew Harnik
Harvard economist Greg Mankiw thought President Trump’s nominations of Herbert Cain and Stephen Moore to the Federal Reserve Board would sully the reputation of his mistress. Sounding like a teenage girl with a crush, or sportscasters talking about their favorite running back, Mankiw wrote a gushing love letter to the Federal Reserve for the New York Times:
I have a confession to make: I love the Federal Reserve. And I suspect that, in their heart of hearts, most other economists love the Federal Reserve, too. But I fear our love may be in peril...
At this point, you might be saying: “Whoa, Nelly! Have you already forgotten the financial crisis and Great Recession?”
No, I have not. As I wrote just last year, the Fed’s decision not to rescue Lehman Brothers when the investment bank faced a liquidity shortfall in September 2008 was arguably an unforced error. And though we’ll never know for sure, subsequent events might have been less tragic if the Fed had acted more boldly.
Institutions, like people, should not be judged by the standard of perfection. They should be judged by whether they are doing the best they can. By this standard, I give the Fed a top grade.
