Geithner warns GOP: politicizing the Federal Reserve could ‘hurt credibility’

Ian Katz
Bloomberg
November 21, 2010

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner said the Obama administration would oppose any effort to strip the Federal Reserve of its mandate to pursue full employment and warned Republicans against politicizing the central bank.

• A d v e r t i s e m e n t

“It is very important to keep politics out of monetary policy,” Geithner said in an interview airing on Bloomberg Television’s “Political Capital with Al Hunt” this weekend. “You want to be very careful not to take steps that hurt our credibility.”

The Republican congressional leadership, including John Boehner, nominated as the next House speaker, has criticized the Fed’s plan to buy $600 billion in assets, saying it would fuel inflation and asset bubbles. Senator Bob Corker, a Tennessee Republican who serves on the Banking Committee, said he favors confining the Fed’s mandate to promoting price stability.

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Geithner, 49, declined to say what compromise the Obama administration would be willing to consider on extending Bush- era tax cuts, while ruling out making permanent the reductions for the wealthiest Americans.

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This article was posted: Sunday, November 21, 2010 at 4:11 pm

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