Employment
"Let's start at the beginning" ... Federal Reserve Post About Lessons Learned on Normalizing Monetary Policy: "Additional insight that only experience can bring"
"So, it should not have been a surprise that the policy rate would rise fast in 2022. Rate hikes would need to be larger and more frequent, relative to the 2015-2018 tightening pace, to get back to neutral. Looking back, should the Committee have signaled a steeper rate path once the liftoff criteria had been met? Perhaps another lesson is that giving forward guidance about liftoff should also include forward guidance about the possible path of the policy rate after liftoff." more »
GAO, Unemployment Insurance: Transformation Needed to Address Program Design, Infrastructure, and Integrity Risks
"The Secretary of Labor should develop and execute a transformation plan that meets GAO's high risk criteria for transformation; the plan should outline coordinated and sustained actions to address issues related to providing effective service and mitigating financial risk, including ways to demonstrate improvements. Planned actions may include addressing audit recommendations, and determining whether legislative changes are needed, as appropriate. Planned actions may also include achieving quantifiable results in reducing improper payment rates, including those related to fraud; improving efficiency in claims processing and restoring pre-pandemic payment timeliness levels; better reaching current worker populations; and enhancing equity in benefit distribution." (Recommendation 1, Publicly Released: Jun 07, 2022.) more »
Federal Reserve: Responding to High Inflation, with Some Thoughts on a Soft Landing; What Is Slide Four We Ask?
May 30, 2022; Governor Christopher J. Waller At the Institute for Monetary and Financial Stability (IMFS) Distinguished Lecture, Goethe University Frankfurt, Germany: To sum up, the relationship between vacancies and unemployment gives me reason to hope that policy tightening in current circumstances can tame inflation without causing a sharp increase in unemployment. Of course, the path of the economy depends on many factors, including how the Ukraine war and COVID-19 evolve. From this discussion, I am left optimistic that the strong labor market can handle higher rates without a significant increase in unemployment. more »
Attorney General Merrick B. Garland Delivers Commencement Address to the Harvard Classes of 2020 and 2021 Cambridge, MA ~ Sunday, May 29, 2022
"A democracy cannot survive if its citizens forsake the rule of law in favor of violence or threats of violence. We are all in this together. We must protect each other." ... So, for me, public service is a way to repay the debt my family owes to this country for our very lives. " "These are our fellow citizens — who administer our elections, ensure our safe travel, treat the sick, teach the children, report the news, represent their constituents, ensure the rule of law, and keep our communities safe." "Finally, the preservation of democracy requires our willingness to tell the truth. Together, we must ensure that the magnitude of an event like January 6th is not downplayed or understated. The commitment to the peaceful transfer of power must be respected by every American. Our democracy depends upon it." Remarks as delivered. more »