November 25, 2018

Is Trump Ripping Off Bernie Sander's Again? - This Time Its The Federal Reserve

It seems like Trump and Republicans are jumping on the Bernie Sander's populist band wagon without giving him the credit for one of his policy proposals, which is to reign in the independence of the Fed. Bernie Sanders has long railed against the efforts of the fed to control inflation by raising interest rates. Now, Trump and many Republicans are feeling the Bern in blaming the Fed for diluting the growth of their magical tax cuts with interest rate increases. First, trade. Second, immigration and guest workers. Now, Federal Reserve independence. Does Trump have any original ideas?

Perhaps this proves that Trump sees Bernie Sanders as the greatest threat to his 2020 re-election, which is why Trump is digging deep into the Bernie Sander's playbook to try to blunt his populist appeal.

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/trump-blames-mnuchin-for-powells-fed-interest-rate-policy-2018-11-24

President Trump has expressed dissatisfaction with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, blaming him for the appointment of a Federal Reserve chairman who has been raising interest rates, a move Trump worries will jeopardize economic gains as his 2020 re-election campaign approaches, people familiar with the matter said.

In conversations with advisers in recent weeks, President Trump also has voiced displeasure with Mnuchin over the turbulent stock market and the Treasury chief’s skepticism toward the sort of punitive trade actions the White House has taken against China, the people said.

Looking back to his appointment of Mnuchin in 2016, President Trump has mused to advisers about whether he should have tapped someone else, mentioning JPMorgan Chase & Co. JPM, -0.92% Chief Executive James Dimon as an alternative. A spokesman for Dimon declined to comment.

Aides fall in and out of favor in a White House known for high turnover, and Mr. Trump’s pique doesn’t necessarily mean Mnuchin is in danger of losing influence or being replaced. As President Trump prepares for a meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping at the Group of 20 summit on Nov. 30, he has relied on Mnuchin in sounding out Beijing on a trade deal.

Here is Bernie Sander's New York Times Op-Ed describing the approach that Trump is now trying to steal:

https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/23/opinion/bernie-sanders-to-rein-in-wall-street-fix-the-fed.html

Bernie Sanders Op-Ed: To Rein In Wall Street, Fix the Fed

WALL STREET is still out of control. Seven years ago, the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department bailed out the largest financial institutions in this country because they were considered too big to fail. But almost every one is bigger today than it was before the bailout. If any were to fail again, taxpayers could be on the hook for another bailout, perhaps a larger one this time.

To rein in Wall Street, we should begin by reforming the Federal Reserve, which oversees financial institutions and which uses monetary policy to maintain price stability and full employment. Unfortunately, an institution that was created to serve all Americans has been hijacked by the very bankers it regulates.

The recent decision by the Fed to raise interest rates is the latest example of the rigged economic system. Big bankers and their supporters in Congress have been telling us for years that runaway inflation is just around the corner. They have been dead wrong each time. Raising interest rates now is a disaster for small business owners who need loans to hire more workers and Americans who need more jobs and higher wages. As a rule, the Fed should not raise interest rates until unemployment is lower than 4 percent. Raising rates must be done only as a last resort — not to fight phantom inflation.

What went wrong at the Fed? The chief executives of some of the largest banks in America are allowed to serve on its boards. During the Wall Street crisis of 2007, Jamie Dimon, the chief executive and chairman of JPMorgan Chase, served on the New York Fed’s board of directors while his bank received more than $390 billion in financial assistance from the Fed. Next year, four of the 12 presidents at the regional Federal Reserve Banks will be former executives from one firm: Goldman Sachs.