Arthur F. Burns Quotes

Monetary policy is not a panacea.

There is no left or right in economic management today.

We should be humble about our ability to stimulate the economy with monetary policy.

I believe that the history of Fed policymaking is that, you know, there are times when we need to raise rates.

Any debate among politicians about monetary policy is counterproductive.

I think the Fed is not designed to have effective tools to deal with the economy. It should settle for just controlling the money supply. And - if it insists, it can worry about inflation.

The Federal Reserve's job is to take away the punch bowl just when the party gets going.

We are all Keynesians now.

Whatever the economy needs to maintain itself, the government will do it.

The president has very little effect on the economy. If you want to put blame or credit, the main person who influences the business cycle is the head of the Federal Reserve Bank.

Inflation is taxation without legislation.

A good monetary policy follows inflationary expectations and not historical numbers.

There's nothing the people love more than a Federal Reserve joke.

There are limits to monetary policy.

Thus, the use of fiat money is more justifiable in financing a depression than in financing a war.

It is no longer a matter of serious controversy whether the government should play a positive role in helping to maintain a high level of economic activity. What we debate nowadays is not the need for controlling business cycles, but rather the nature of governmental action, its timing and its extent.

The Fed [Federal Reserve System], whether it likes it or not, is required to provide adequate reserves to the banking system in order for the government to finance its needs, even when that is inflationary.

If we think we're going to solve our economic problems by monetary policy alone, we are mistaken. History shows that we have to employ fiscal policy as well.

Government should adjust its rates of expenditure and taxation such that total spending is neither more or less than that which is sufficient to purchase the full employment level of output at current prices. If this means there is deficit, greater borrowing, "printing money," etc., then these things in themselves are neither good or bad, they are simply the means to the desired ends of full employment and price stability.

Whip Inflation Now

I don’t think that the Fed [Federal Reserve] ever can be or should be a prisoner of the markets.

The Federal Reserve is playing a mind game—but with enormous real-world consequences.

The government will always tell you that it wants low inflation. The real issue is the horizon over which to bring inflation down.

I will be the first to say that it is always difficult to get monetary policy just right. But the Fed's analytical prowess is top-notch, and our forecasting record is second to none.

Of course I welcome all the normalization of monetary policy. I think monetary policy should be normal.