Central Banking, FX Interventions and Fiscal Policy Economics and Politics of Macroeconomic Policies.

Although he had a genuine contempt for Wall Street and its minions, he did not let that stand in the way of what he thought had to be done. Just as he had swallowed hard to win Fannie and Freddie reform legislation in July, he now pushed his personal feelings aside. БЂњIf weБЂ™re in the midst of a financial meltdown, all IБЂ™m asking is whether it will work,БЂ«President Bush said. He noted that we didnБЂ™t have time to worry about politics. We had to figure out the right thing to do and let Congress know that it needed to act. БЂњTell the Hill weБЂ™re fixing to have a meltdown,БЂ«he said. БЂњWe just need to tell them that this is our strategy and be firm.БЂ«I then asked Ben what the Fed could do if Congress refused to grant the powers we needed. I asked this because I knew that the president needed to hear the answer. Ben insisted that, legally, there was nothing more that the Fed could do. The central bank had already strained its resources and pushed the limits of its powers. The situation called for fiscal policy, and Congress needed to make the judgment ...»