If I Am Confirmed, I Am Confident

The Benefit Of Appointing A Hawkish Central Banker Is The Increased Inflation-fighting Credibility That Such An Appointment Brings.

We’ve Never Had A Decline In House Prices On A Nationwide Basis. So, What I Think What Is More Likely Is That House Prices Will Slow, Maybe Stabilize, Might Slow Consumption Spending A Bit. I Don’t Think It’s Going To Drive The Economy Too Far From Its Full Employment Path, Though.

I Think That Having Good Data, Good Statistics-and The United States Generally Has Better Macroeconomic Statistics Than Most Countries-and Having Good Economists To Interpret Those Data And Present The Policy Alternatives, Has A Substantially Beneficial Effect On Policymaking In The United States.

I Served Seven Years As The Chair Of The Princeton Economics Department Where I Had Responsibility For Major Policy Decisions, Such As Whether To Serve Bagels Or Doughnuts At The Department Coffee Hour.

One Might As Well Try To Perform Brain Surgery With A Sledgehammer.