Thread by @NickTimiraos

In his interview with 60 Minutes, Fed Chairman Jay Powell pushes back on the idea that there’s a trade off between economic growth and public health safety.

“When the public is confident that it's safe to go out, they'll go out.” wsj.com/articles/feds-…

Scott Pelley asks Powell what he’d like to see for the economy on the back end of this crisis?

Powell: “We do need to be mindful of finding a way to a more inclusive prosperity in this country.”

Pelley: Is the Fed out of ammunition?

Powell: No way. On monetary policy, he says, “There are a number of dimensions where we can move to make policy even more accommodative.”

Pelley: What about negative policy rates?

Powell: No thanks. “There're plenty of people who think negative interest rates are a good policy. But we don't really think so at the Federal Reserve.”

Powell explains the Fed’s aggressive and decisive action to prevent the Treasury market from melting down in mid-March:

“We're not trying to move markets to a particular level. We just want them to work…. It felt like we really needed to act. And we did.”

Powell says the virus shock has created a lot of pressure on state budgets, and federal aid is something that “deserves a careful look.”

Powell usually shies away from getting too prescriptive about fiscal policy.

The full transcript of the 60 Minutes interview is here: cbsnews.com/news/full-tran…