Fed is waiting for a revolution? Bessent: Economists don't know what they are doing

US finance minister Scott Bessent stated on Monday that it is necessary to review the activities of the entire federal reserve system and at the same time blamed the central bank for “errors”. He suggested that the bank is a source of synekur for economists who “do not know what they are doing.”

Bessent referred to the criticism of US President Donald Trump's administration towards the central bank and its president Jerome Powell in an interview with CNBC television.

– We must examine the entire federal reserve institution and see if it has been successful – said the minister. – Does the organization accomplish its mission? If it were FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) and made so many mistakes, we would come back to it and wonder why this happened – he added.

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Bessent accused Bank's economists of “sowing fear” about the effects of the introduced duties and their effects on inflation.

– We have great inflation indicators. So, you know, I think it is a belief that they are not able to break free from a certain way of thinking. All these economists with doctoral titles there, I don't know what they are doing. It is like a program of universal basic income for economists – he said. He said that they are accustomed to working with presidents with less knowledge in economics than Donald Trump.

Bessent at the same time undermined the reports of “Wall Street Journal” that he explained to Trump that the release of the head of Fed Powell he criticized would harm the markets. Trump himself also denied this on Monday, who in the Sunday post on the Truth Social said that “no one had to explain it to him.”

Trump criticized Powell many times in sharp words – including Calling him “a moron” – for waiting for too long with interest rate reductions. His term expires next year, and Bessent himself is mentioned among the candidates for his deputy.

From Washington Oskar Górzyński (PAP)

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