As long as the growth is taking place in a slack economy, with a high unemployment rate and a low capacity utilization rate. That growth is not likely to be inflationary, and not much reason for us to worry about it, |
Deflation is not at the doorstep. |
I think all the stars are aligned for the economy to pick up, ... It's been growing; it just hasn't been growing fast enough to create new jobs. But I think the tax package, on top of easy money, will probably kick it over. |
I think even before Katrina I would have been through. I would have been arguing to pause, if I were still there. |
In the past, the unemployment has been more blue-collar, and people laid off were more likely to be brought back when the economy picked up, ... This one has been more white-collar than ever. |
may be a need sometime in the coming year, but let's wait until we get there. |
showing signs of resisting arrest. |
The outlook for inflation seems very positive to me for some time to come, and therefore, I doubt that there will be a need to fight inflation for quite a while, ... Indeed, I believe that further disinflation is more likely over the next year or so than a resurgence of inflation. |
The wealthier a society, the less the income they spend on food, and less the income they spend on hard goods, and more they spend on services, ... That we have become more a service economy is not something to worry about. |
We are going to be very alert...looking for any weakening, |
We may be coming to the point where future [policy] moves will become data-dependent, ... We may still move in [a tightening] direction, but it won't be quite as automatic. |