Larry Summers

It is often said that the chair of the Federal Reserve is the second most important person in Washington. I’m not sure the statement is exactly right, but that it is plausible is, in a sense, remarkable. Why should the second most important person in Washington not be elected by the people, or at least directly accountable to and subject to dismissal by elected officials? The president cannot fire members of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, and for the past quarter-century it has been taboo for the president or his economic team to so much as comment on the Fed’s activities. READ MORE