At the Rocky Mountain Economic Summit, I will likely have the opportunity to spend some time with Charles Plosser, President of the Philadelphia Fed, and Jim Bullard, President of the St. Louis Fed.
I will be attending the Summit with journalist credentials and in that capacity will be able to interview these two speakers (and others) while I am there. What should I ask them? Here are some ideas I now have, but I don't know how deep we can get or how much time I will have. I am eagrely searching for other suggestions.
- What is the likelihood the Fed will monetize substantially more of the US debt, leading to future inflation?
- Given the massive and growing US debt (and the possibility of future inflation), what is your outlook for the term structure of interest rates?
- Put differently, why are long-term interest rates so low?
- Why does the velocity of money appear to have declined so much over the past decade or so?
- There was an intriguing chart from the St. Louis Fed back in about 2008 showing a massive increase in "high-powered money". What happened to all that monetary base, and why didn't it have more of an impact on the real economy?
- How important was the liquidity created by the shadow banks, and its subsequent collapse, in causing the 2007 financial implosion?
- Why on earth did the Fed decide to pay interest on bank reserves held at the Fed at the very time it was trying to stimulate the economy? That sounds painfully like the "soaking up excess reserves" mistake made by the Fed back in the 1930s.
I welcome your suggestions/refinements either via email or in the comments.
My attendance at the summit is supported by several sponsors, including the Department of Economics at The University of Regina.