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Political Pressure

Robert Black

Mon, March 28, 1988

I think that it was the very hot political environment that made us reluctant to {target the funds rate}. Y ou know, interest rates were getting pretty high about that time. There was a lot of pressure on us and we knew that we had to do something. And we had to make it palatable so we didn’t get shot out of the water as soon as we began to move. I think--1don’t know if others would agree--that’s why we did it at that time. I thought that we would end up targeting the money supply; but I think most of the people in the room really thought it was a way that they could get the federal funds rate up more than they otherwise could get away with. in that kind of highly charged political environment. That’s the way that I read it. I don’t know; Jerry {Corrigan} or some of the others who were here might see it somewhat differently.

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