Meltzer criticises Burns and Bernanke over Fed independence

Former Fed chair Ben Bernanke

Photo: US Fed/Wikimedia Commons

- Central Banking Newsdesk
- 13 May 2016

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Arthur Burns and Ben Bernanke, both academic economists, are "the two worst Fed chairmen to date", according to Allan Meltzer. "They did not lose independence. They gave it away willingly," he said on May 9.

Burns served as Federal Reserve chair from January 1970 to March 1978. Meltzer accused him of giving up the Fed's independence for the benefit of then-president Richard Nixon. "Burns financed deficits with money and blamed labour unions for inflation," he said.

He was also critical of

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