Rebel of the Week: Thomas Hoenig
August 19th, 2010Some of you may be cringing at how a Fed official made it to such a prestigious honor like Silver Circle‘s “Rebel of the Week.” The truth is, he has taken a step in a direction that does not promote fiscal irresponsibility. Some may disagree, but baby steps can’t hurt, especially in this financial mess today.
Furthermore, Hoenig is the President of the Kansas City Federal Reserve. He stepped up recently to state that keeping interest rates at zero could cause damaging effects on the economy in the future, not that growth isn’t already in trouble. While many of his colleagues worry about deflation, Hoenig has dismissed any fear similar and is keeping his focus on lending rates. His proposals have consisted of 1% to 2% interest rates for lending.
Let it be known the longest serving Fed official, has his down sides. He supported the bailouts and believes “Fannie and Freddie shouldn’t be private companies again.” Nope, doesn’t sound like an End the Fed kinda Rebel to me, however he is questioning the status quo among other Fed workers and administrators. Here are a few recent statements made by Hoenig, that make me think he has the potential of converting to the Rebel side:
“I wish free money was really free and that there was a painless way to move from severe recession and high leverage robust, sustainable economic growth, but there is no short cut.”
“Monetary policy is a useful tool, but it cannot solve every problem faced by the U.S. today.”
“In judging how we approach this recovery, it seems to me that we need to be careful not to repeat those policy patterns that followed the recessions of 1990-91 and 2001.”
Are you seeing the potential I see here?
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