Robert Byrd Quotes

I reject the advice of those who think the only way to fight inflation is to throw millions of people out of work .... I guarantee you that I will not fight inflation with your jobs.

People forget how difficult it is to stop inflation or get it under control… I worry about it all the time.

We simply cannot check inflation by keeping people out of work.

It was gradually learned that acceptance of a somewhat higher inflation rate would not really bring somewhat higher employment.

The harsh truth is that if the policy isn’t hurting it isn’t working. I know there is a difficult period ahead but the important thing is that we cannot and must not fudge the determination to stop inflation in its tracks.

Our purpose is to lean against the winds of deflation or inflation, whichever way they are blowing.

Rising unemployment and the recession have been the price that we have had to pay to get inflation down. That price is well worth paying.

If by carelessness in controlling inflation and imposing controls on our general economy we are unable to meet these temporary but vital calls upon us, we will be courting real disaster.

There are two things that can disrupt the American economy. One is a war. The other is a meeting of The Federal Reserve Board.

Whip Inflation Now

If unemployment could be brought down to say 2 percent at the cost of an assured steady rate of inflation of 10 percent per year, or even 20 percent, this would be a good bargain.

The Federal Reserve cannot solve all the economy's problems on its own.

Inflation is not always the main problem, or indeed a problem at all. Sometimes, though rarely, deflation is a more serious threat, and we need to shelve many of the orthodoxies we have held so dear.

There is no left or right in economic management today.

You have to change people’s minds to stop inflation.

When the economy shows signs of faltering, prompt countermoves are required. Even mild measures on the part of government can be effective in the early stages of an economic decline. ... If action is withheld until a recession has gained momentum, strong and costly measures may prove insufficient.

There's no such thing as a painless cure for inflation.

Having a little inflation is like being a little bit pregnant.

The real problem is deflation. That is the opposite of inflation but equally serious to the borrower.

Deflation isn't good, and inflation is easier to cure than deflation.

Double-digit inflation is a terrible thing - and it got up to 14 or 15 percent on a monthly basis for a while, shortly after I became chairman of the Fed.

Sector-specific price declines, uncomfortable as they may be for producers in that sector, are generally not a problem for the economy as a whole and do not constitute deflation.

To face deflation, you have to have people accepting it and not reacting to it.

The central focus of what we are doing at the Fed is to keep inflation from accelerating - and preferably decelerating.

With the shrinking of the US economy, and it's shrinking very rapidly, you not only have more money, but you also have fewer goods. That's a classic double-whammy on inflation.