Bloomberg Businessweek - USA (2019-07-22)

E C O N O M I C S

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BloombergBusinessweek July22, 2019

Edited by

Cristina Lindblad

● The president’s tweets are

just a nuisance compared with

his push to pack the central

bank with partisans

For a full year, Powell has been on the receiv-

ing end of an unprecedented barrage of abuse

from President Donald Trump, who’s called the

Fed “loco,” as well as “the biggest threat” facing

the U.S. economy. This from the man who tapped

him for the job. Powell enjoyed five quiet months

atthehelmofAmerica’scentralbankafterhetook

overfromJanetYelleninFebruaryoflastyear.But

asheandhiscolleaguesratchetedupborrowing

costs,thepresident’sirerose.Trumptookhisfirst

shotlastJuly,andthingsonlygotworseastheFed

plowedaheadwithfourinterest-ratehikesover

thecourseoftheyear,thelastinDecemberasoffi-

cialsalsopenciledintworatehikesfor2019.That,

alongwiththeglobaleconomyalreadyshowing

signsofstrain,sentfinancialmarketsintoa tem-

porarytailspin, further inflaming the president.

That’s when Trump began asking aides about

his ability to oust the Fed chief in discussions

Stoicism, the classical philosophy of emotional

resilience, logic, and virtue, has long been a

handy guide for anyone dealing with a crazy boss.

Seneca the Younger, a first century Roman states-

man, found it helpful in managing the famously

volatileEmperorNero.FederalReserveChairman

JeromePowellalsoseemstobea fan.Hehasa

mantra, a simple phrase he uses frequently in

private and occasionally in public, that sounds

straight from the stoic’s guide to a happy life:

“Control the controllable.”