Powell —I have not one shadow of doubt— makes, along with his board members, decisions based on traditional economic or monetary thinking.
Trump does not.
Of course you can debate, as we have in this country, whether a governor or chair of a central bank is doing the right thing or a good thing. But what you don’t do is weaponize the law to hunt him down.
A central bank’s independence is the cornerstone of how a lot of the world’s economy works. It matters.
Which is why so many central bank chiefs came out in defence of Powell — one of which was our newly minted Reserve Bank Governor, Dr Anna Breman.
She is now, it seems, in trouble for doing so. Winston Peters I didn’t take that seriously, but Nicola Willis I do. And together I most certainly do. Both have now spoken out against her move. Willis says she should have taken advice.
Breman says she didn’t want to wake Willis at 3 in the morning. That worries me. I have woken the boss here at 3 in the morning because my computer password didn’t work. I would have no hesitation ringing Willis at a similar time. I worry about her weakness.
But more importantly — advice on what? Breman is independent. The irony is that the entire debate around Powell is about independence and the defence of it. Can Breman now only be independent if the government says so? And if that’s the case, how far removed from the Trump view of the world are Peters and Willis?
Are Willis and Peters scared of America and the White House? Would the advice have been: “Look, obviously you are independent, but please keep in mind we are scared witless of the nut job in Washington, so anything you can do to stop things getting messy would be appreciated”?
Or —if we are universally agreed Breman should have taken advice— is she in fact a loose unit? Have we hired the wrong person? A person who has put her foot in it having only been in the job 15 minutes?
So which is it? She is independent, and good on her? Or she is a puppet of government and she’s trouble waiting to happen?
Answers please.
Mike Hosking is a New Zealand television and radio broadcaster. He currently hosts The Mike Hosking Breakfast show on NewstalkZB on weekday mornings - where this article was sourced.
A central bank’s independence is the cornerstone of how a lot of the world’s economy works. It matters.
Which is why so many central bank chiefs came out in defence of Powell — one of which was our newly minted Reserve Bank Governor, Dr Anna Breman.
She is now, it seems, in trouble for doing so. Winston Peters I didn’t take that seriously, but Nicola Willis I do. And together I most certainly do. Both have now spoken out against her move. Willis says she should have taken advice.
Breman says she didn’t want to wake Willis at 3 in the morning. That worries me. I have woken the boss here at 3 in the morning because my computer password didn’t work. I would have no hesitation ringing Willis at a similar time. I worry about her weakness.
But more importantly — advice on what? Breman is independent. The irony is that the entire debate around Powell is about independence and the defence of it. Can Breman now only be independent if the government says so? And if that’s the case, how far removed from the Trump view of the world are Peters and Willis?
Are Willis and Peters scared of America and the White House? Would the advice have been: “Look, obviously you are independent, but please keep in mind we are scared witless of the nut job in Washington, so anything you can do to stop things getting messy would be appreciated”?
Or —if we are universally agreed Breman should have taken advice— is she in fact a loose unit? Have we hired the wrong person? A person who has put her foot in it having only been in the job 15 minutes?
So which is it? She is independent, and good on her? Or she is a puppet of government and she’s trouble waiting to happen?
Answers please.
Mike Hosking is a New Zealand television and radio broadcaster. He currently hosts The Mike Hosking Breakfast show on NewstalkZB on weekday mornings - where this article was sourced.
7 comments:
She is not employed to interfere in International politics. She's not a politician or a diplomat. Our last governor bent over for the Labour government in a supposedly independent way. Now we are still paying for his great betrayal..
Stating that inter alia "the nut job in Washington" maybe Hoskings personal opinion but is contrary to NZCPR requesting contributions not to be defamatory ,derogatoryor disruptive .
Articles and comments abide by slightly different rules. Strong and often derisory opinions may be expressed by article writers, as long as they are part of a cogent argument or commentary. Nasty comments made by readers are often not contextualised, so we are left with what may be an actionable slur that has not been related to the topic under discussion.
Public servants ought to be politically neutral in carrying out their roles and responsibilities. If they hold a position of some influence, such as the head of a public sector organisation then they also ought to refrain from any comment other than the government position.
Has the Governor prepared commentary or positions for the other ~100+ central banks? Or just the one? Surprised no letter against Israel yet.
Thanks Jonesy. I'm not sure how that one slipped through first time.
Complainant, please resubmit in more sober, objective language. 'Freedom of speech' is not license to slander.
Our CB Governor did exactly the right thing in supporting the Fed Reserve Governor. She did not claim to speak on behalf of the government, only as the Governor of the Reserve Bank. And this in support of the policy adopted by our governments that the central banks of the world need to be completely independent from politics. That Peters and Willis think the Governor should seek approval before stating the position of the Reserve Bank is contrary to their own policy. That Willis thought it her right to interfere is alarming in that she is the one who may very well be opposed by the Reserve Bank Governor when carrying out her duties. Willis' interference suggests she is trying to assert herself over the Governor. NOT a good look by any means.
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