Jeffrey Sparshott

Holding policy too tight can cause undue harm to American families and leave them with two problems: above-target inflation and a weak labor market. Congress gave us two goals. And our job is to meet both of them. Recent policy decision puts us in a good place to achieve that.

But it matters how you get there. This means we cannot let the labor market falter. Real wage gains come from long and durable expansions. And the current expansion is still relatively young, as shown in this chart.

This chart shows the damaging cost of high inflation. It has chipped away at real earnings and weakened household purchasing power. Many Americans are still trying to catch up. So, the FOMC must continue to bring inflation down. Anything other than 2% is not an option.

This week’s FOMC decision was not an easy choice. Our goals are in conflict. Inflation is above target, the labor market is softening, and there are risks to both sides of our mandate—maximum employment and price stability. Two charts explain why I ultimately favored a rate cut.

It will soon be time to recalibrate policy to better match our economy. Congress has given the Fed two goals: full employment and price stability. Both are in tension at the moment, with tariffs pushing inflation higher and the labor market showing signs of slowing.

sad to see another legacy news organization disappear: WCBS 880 radio in NYC. Thanks to Tom Jones @Poynter for sharing anchor Wayne Cabot's final words: "With each closing newspaper, radio newsroom, TV newsroom, magazine, now even digital news operations, the country we love is diminished. So as we leave the news eco-system after 57 years of all news and 100 years of service on New York radio, we implore you to find that next trusted source. Use it. Support it. In word and in deed. It is the most patriotic thing you can do."

This is truly great news.

@EconBerger I’m angry at myself for remembering this: Living in a Box

Is “Bad Company” the only case of a song from an album of the same name by an artist of the same name? Any others?

What is the Wall Street Journal. … #freeevan

@BrendonBernard_ cmegroup.com/markets/intere…

Q for anyone with a Bloomberg terminal: what are the market-implied odds for BoC rate cuts in June/July? Want to sound smart when I hop on BNN tomorrow morning to talk April LFS!

@ModeledBehavior @tylercowen Why do you say entrepreneurship is down? federalreserve.gov/econres/notes/…

@tylercowen writes that "With or without noncompetes, it is hard to just walk away from a major tech company and start competing with it". Of course, this is true broadly. And indeed, we know that firms are growing larger and older and entrepreneurship is down across the economy. So more than it used to be, it is hard to walk away from a major company and start competing with it. Banning non-competes is one of the few policy levers we have. bloomberg.com/opinion/articl…

@marthagimbel Congratulations! Also, this is amazing:

Full details on methodology are here: budgetlab.yale.edu/topic/methodol… and our github is here: github.com/Budget-Lab-Yale

So excited to announce that @natasharsarin and @dannyyagan and I are launching @the_budget_lab at Yale Law School. Budget scoring is an incredibly important part of the policy process and our hope is to bring a new perspective, with a focus on innovation and transparency. 1/

Powerful @WSJ front page today — a reminder that American reporter @evangershkovich has been unjustly detained by Putin's Russia for a full year and the world has been denied his incisive and in-depth reporting. #FreeEvan

@ewstephe @TheAssemblyNC Congratulations Emily!

Today was my first day as deputy managing editor at @TheAssemblyNC! I’m really excited to help cover my home state after more than a decade in DC. Send me tips on news — and places in the Triangle to live/get coffee/go to the playground. Extra points if you can do all three.

It's publication day for Means of Control. penguinrandomhouse.com/books/706321/m… Here it is at every stage. From left to right: June 2021 book proposal, Jan 2022 outline and reporting plan, October 2022 first draft, Fall 2023 galley and then the finished book. On shelves today!

Lots of good people are out of jobs today in the @WSJ DC bureau. And really, for no discernible reason given that the WSJ and its parent companies have seen record profits. A totally bleak, depressing and dispiriting start to 2024 for media.

So many talented and hardworking WSJ editors and reporters were laid off today in Washington. Our bureau will never be the same. Please hire them! Our tremendous loss can be your gain.

The @WSJ DC bureau is the most talented, collaborative and genuinely kind place I have ever worked. That’s because of all of the great people who called it home. We lost so many tremendous reporters and editors today. Each would be a great addition to any newsroom. Hire them.

The @WSJ DC bureau lost so many talented, wonderful reporters today. The bureau was my home for eight years and every reporter there is brilliant, deeply sourced, generous and hard-working. They all deserve to be hired immediately.

Still processing what I witnessed today: dozens of brilliant WSJ reporters & editors, one after another, packing their desks & heading out the door. My only hope is they walked out into a world that will reward them for their vital contributions to journalism. Please hire them!