Richard Fisher, president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, just delivered a speech to the Japan Center for Economic Research in Tokyo, where he didn't quote Bob Dylan or compare the economy to the contraptions of Rube Goldberg -- though he did open with a joke about his kid, which was cute, and make reference to Natsume Soseki's Kokoro, "a gorgeous novel written in 1914." Fisher, though, had very serious business on his mind, as evidenced by the headline and his prediction that "I expect the unemployment rate to continue rising to a level that could surpass 10 percent by year-end." He also laid out 10 initiatives the Fed's undertaken since the collapse of what used to be known as "the economy," and then says the expanding of the Federal Reserve's budget sheet concerns even the Federal Reserve. As in:
This expansion of our balance sheet has given rise to concerns that we may be:
- Planting the seeds of future inflation;
- Setting the stage for a demise of the dollar; and
- Placing the cherished independence of the Federal Reserve at risk.
I understand these concerns. And I have actively and loudly argued during deliberations of the FOMC that these risks represent a real and present danger. But I am here to tell you that I am not alone.
