20 HќќѠіђџȱ юћјђџ ђяџѢюџѦȱ2014 Janet Yellen, Federal Reserve chair sworn in as successor to Ben Bernanke, brings with her the agenda of ȱȱȱȱȱĴȱ of a humanitarian, a blend desirable in today’s economy that has been given the short end of the stick by a government incapable of bridging ȱěȱȱ¢ȱęȱ policy. Although Yellen’s decision to continue the monthly Treasury and mortgage-backed bond buying has created diverse opinions about her appointment, she manages to gain majority support, even with her softspoken, yet astute, demeanor. Having served as president and CEO of the San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank, Yellen’s resume is nothing short of impressive. Her biography on FederalReserve.org states she is a graduate of Brown and Yale and was a professor of economics at UC Berkeley for 14 years until leaving in 1994 to serve as a member of the ȱȱ ȱȱȱ ǯȱ ȱ heading notable economic councils and organizations for 10 years, she returned to the Federal Reserve in 2010 to act as vice chair. At the top of her to-do list lays the issue of unemployment, for which she is known as having the “dove” quality. Her concern with labor was most notably recognized in her “Fair ȱ ěȄȱǰȱȱ ȱȱ summarized that workers are not productive if they feel they are receiving an unfair wage. She has made public her priorities with regard to the Fed’s responsibilities: “Reducing unemployment should take center ȱǽȱĚǾǯȄ ȱ ȱ Ȃȱęȱ hearing with the Senate Banking Ĵȱȱ ǯȱŗŚǰȱȱ ¢ȱ from unemployment, she was drilled ȱȱěȱȱȱ- ing (QE), mainly focusing on potential asset bubbles and the fact that the mere mention of tapering had ȱěȱȱȱȱȱ ǯȱ ȱĴȱǰȱȱ QE has not produced the most desired outcomes, it has still made “a meaningful contribution” with regard to the automobile and housing markets and pointed out that:“[There Ǿȱȱȱȱȱȱȱ stock market.” Perhaps the result of indicating a possible shift in bondbuying might play a role in the Fed chair’s perspective of transparency, which Bernanke incorporated into the central bank’s guiding principle during his term. ȱ ȱȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ Risch, CFO for Accuride Corp., a leading North American manufacturer and distributor of commercial vehicle components headquartered in Evansville, Ind., he was asked how QE and the Fed chairwoman’s plan ȱȱȱ¢ȱȱěȱ Accuride’s business strategy. He responded, “How do these actions ȱǽǾȱȱȱȱ money? Do they want to reinvest ǽȱȱ¢Ǿǵȱ ȱȱȱ ȱ DZȱ ȱ ȱ FEATURE яќѢѡȱѡѕђȱ Ѣѡѕќџ Almeta Rodgers is a senior at the University of Southern Indiana Romain College of Business, majoring in economics, with an interest in development. She is a member of the Lambda Chapter of Omicron Delta Epsilon, the international economics honor society. The Romain College of Business at the University of Southern Indiana recently hosted its second annual writing competition for the university’s Money and Banking class. Forty students entered the competition, writing on topics ranging from currency, monetary policy, The Federal Reserve, national and state banking, community banks, and central banks across the globe. The Money and Banking class is taught by Dr. Marie A. Bussing (mbburks@usi.edu), assistant professor of economics. Guest speakers have included Thomas L. Austerman, president and ȱ¡ȱĜȱȱ ȱ ǰȱ ǰȱȱ ǯȱ ȱ Ĵǰȱȱ education specialist with the St. Louis Federal Reserve. Following is the winning entry, authored by USI student Almeta Rodgers.
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