Tom Schlesinger Quotations

It will come at a really interesting time because the Fed has been so much more successful in recent years than central banks in countries that favored a more rule-oriented approach. One has to wonder why the Fed would abandon the approach that has worked so well.

He might try to draw a bright line in the hearing - say that he won't be drawn into commenting on issues not directly related to the Fed's responsibilities, ... We'll have to see how that plays. It is important that the Fed chairman be seen as independent.

He's Alan Greenspan all purpose sage, ... He seldom has anyone tell him, 'Why don't you be more like Fed chairman of the past?'

It'd be fascinating to hear what he thinks, if he'd actually tell you. The guys who are most frequently mentioned for the job are all ivory tower types. I don't think anyone has the breadth and experience dealing with the business community as Greenspan did when he came on the job. Certainly they don't have as much experience as he accumulated in the past 17 years.

I would bet anything they rue the day they got trapped into these terms like measured, patient. The signals Greenspan and others have given is that measured still the way they want to present their stance. It's now measured with a 'but,' behind it though.

I would be nervous about picking an inflation-targeting champion as my next Fed chairman given the potential impact on employment growth.

It's a rather flexible term that gives them the chance to take many different actions,

As a group, they will have a sense they have something to prove and that what they have to prove is they can be tough on price stability.

They are not using that possibility as a justification for their tightening campaign, in contrast to past years when there was a lot of concern about tightening labor market.

I remember thinking, man, if you think that's problematic, wait until you stick around Washington a little bit longer.