Economists Believe Fed Must Abandon Stimulus

The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday that a group of Republican-leaning economists will launch a campaign this week calling on the Federal Reserve to abandon its plan to buy $600 billion in Treasury bonds. The Fed's latest policy to revive the economy has come under heavy criticism from Republican lawmakers. The economists were quoted as saying, "The planned asset purchases risk currency debasement and inflation, and we do not think they will achieve the Fed's objective or promoting employment." The dollar rallied this morning partly in response to this WSJ report. The dollar index is up 0.53% this morning. Some economists who support this campaign are Michael Boskin, once chairman of former President George W. Bush's Council of Economic Advisors, and John Taylor, a monetary policy scholar who served in both Bush administrations.