by Yun Li
CNBC.com
Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago President Austan Goolsbee on Monday urged against reducing the central bank’s independence as President Donald Trump amped up criticism of Chair Jerome Powell.
“The long-run expectations that the Fed would get inflation back down to the 2% target were critically important. Fed independence is critically important for that,” Goolsbee said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”
“When there is interference over the long run, it’s going to mean higher inflation, it’s going to mean worse growth and higher unemployment, because there’s just going to be a little less willingness to step up and do the hard things when the moment is tough,” he said, while declining to comment directly on what Trump has said.