Paul Samuelson Quotes

Low and stable inflation in many countries is an important accomplishment that will continue to bring significant benefits.

Poland is one of the few countries that can afford to conduct a conventional monetary policy and that means we have to act against the buildup of imbalances in the economy.

Monetary policy itself cannot sensibly be directed at reducing imbalances.

I have never believed that central banks should have rigid inflation targeting. That is not a good thing to stabilize. There is nothing in economic theory to back this.

The main long-run contribution monetary policy can make is to provide a stable macroeconomic and financial environment.

The best way that a central bank can support growth on a durable basis is to ensure inflation is low, stable - there is financial stability - and that is the role that the central bank plays.

After a long period in which the desired direction for inflation was always downward, the industrialized world's central banks must today try to avoid major changes in the inflation rate in either direction.

Japan's experience suggests the importance of assessing the sustainability of price stability over a fairly long period, which many central banks have emphasized in recent years.

The Fed needs an approach that consolidates the gains of the Greenspan years and ensures that those successful policies will continue - even if future Fed chairmen are less skillful or less committed to price stability than Mr. Greenspan has been.

Of course, looking tough on inflation is part of any central banker's job description: if investors believe that inflation is going to get out of control, you end up with higher interest rates and capital flight, and a vicious circle quickly ensues.

And I am convinced that a single focus on preserving the purchasing power of the dollar, in effect, guarding against inflation or deflation, actually creates a solid foundation for the greatest job growth and the strongest economy that America can have.

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.

The country needed someone credible to fight inflation and Volker was the man for the job…. He understood that the government had to establish credibility in order to give policy makers flexibility when they needed it.

Whip Inflation Now

Monetary stability is a cornerstone of the social contract.

Requiring the Fed to focus on preserving the purchasing power of the dollar will create a solid foundation for economic growth.

I have said repeatedly that the way to sustainable growth is to bring down inflation to much more reasonable levels.

The Fed's job is not to stall growth or to prevent economic 'overheating.' It is to keep prices stable and the dollar a strong and reliable currency.

We have been mandated by the government, backed by legislation, that we have to have an inflation target of about 4%.

The road to economic well-being is to reward productive economic activity and to provide a moderate and predictable growth of money to finance real economic growth without reigniting the fires of inflation.

No one thinks of controlling inflation of a continental-sized country by holding back municipal tariffs. Macroeconomic stability cannot be achieved through microeconomic intervention.

We pay some price when necessary to bring down inflation but that price is temporary and is not large relative to the permanent gain from reduced inflation.

The benefit of appointing a hawkish central banker is the increased inflation-fighting credibility that such an appointment brings.

If I am confirmed, I am confident that my colleagues on the Federal Open Market Committee and I will maintain the focus on long-term price stability as monetary policy's greatest contribution to general economic prosperity and maximum employment.

The principle that a central bank, charged with controlling inflation, should be independent from the government is unassailable. It may also be true that it's easier for the central bank to guard its independence from political pressure when it mainly holds government securities.