And they don’t like government, and they don’t like to pay taxes. “We’ve got an enormous number of enormously rich people that have convinced themselves that they’re rich because they’re smart and constructive. “The central issue is we’re developing into a plutocracy,” Volcker told the Times. The world has been operating without an agreed monetary standard, with varying degrees of floating and fixing, and with the dollar still the global reserve currency. And his harshest words were for the “swamp” of lobbyists in Washington today Volcker, Keeping At It: The Quest for Sound Money and Good Government 0 likes Like That temporary arrangement essentially remains in place fifty years later. He also said he puzzled by the current Fed’s use of a 2% inflation target. A commitment to stable prices established Volcker’s reputation. Readers and nonreaders of his memoir, Keeping at It: The Quest for Sound Money and Good Government, written with Christine Harper, should reflect on what he has to say. In his memoir, Volcker recounts a meeting with President Reagan before the 1984 Presidential election in which Volcker was ordered to not raise interest rates before the election (Volcker said he had no such plans). Volcker is not always right, but he always has something important to say. While Wall Street may chafe at some of Volcker’s ideas and actions, he’s widely held in high regard in the financial industry. The idea became the Volcker Rule in the Dodd-Frank Act, as well as a thorn in the side of big banks. He’s also known for proposing legislation to prevent banks from using customer deposits in risky investments. economy into a recession but ushering in an era of lower inflation that has endured ever since. inflation rate reached 14.8% in March 1980, Volcker’s Fed raised the federal funds rate to as high as 22% in 1981, pushing the U.S. Volcker was named Fed Chairman by President Carter in 1979 and served until 1987. The 91-year-old Volcker made the comments while promoting a memoir he recently completed, ““Keeping at It: The Quest for Sound Money and Good Government.” But I don’t know, how can you run a democracy when nobody believes in the leadership of the country?” At least the military still has all the respect. “Respect for government, respect for the Supreme Court, respect for the president, it’s all gone. “We’re in a hell of a mess in every direction,” Volcker told the Times.

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