Fed's Fisher Pins Slow Growth on Politicians
SAN ANTONIO--Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President Richard Fisher on Wednesday blamed both major U.S. political parties for a "horrid" political climate in Washington, and said monetary policy alone can't drive the economy.</br></br>"We provided the fuel for economic recovery," Mr. Fisher said of the central bank, describing the Fed's stimulus as "very high-octane, dirt-cheap gasoline."</br></br>But he said that neither Republican nor Democratic politicians in Washington have done their part by putting policies in place that spur the private sector "to take the cheap fuel that we have provided and step on the accelerator."</br></br>He made the comments during a speech at an event in San Antonio, to honor Dick Evans, chairman and chief executive of Cullen/Frost Bankers Inc.</br></br>Mr. Fisher, who isn't a voting member of the Federal Open Market Committee, has been an outspoken opponent of the Fed's easy-money stance, a fact he noted during his remarks Wednesday. He also reiterated his view that promotion of maximum sustainable job growth--one of the Federal Reserve's legal mandates--isn't possible using monetary stimulus alone.