Ending Hunger in America, 2014 Hunger Report Full Report | Page 52

Construction workers
experienced the
highest percentage
point increase in longterm unemployment
during the recession.

Savannah River Site

42? Chapter 1

n

has given higher priority to low inflation rather than maximum employment. According to
Daniel L. Thornton, current vice president of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, despite
its dual mandate, the Fed has been “cautious not to state its policy objectives in terms of
either full employment or the unemployment rate, preferring instead to state its mandate in terms of price stability
“Elected officials—
and economic growth [emphasis Thornton].”21 The problem
and the public—have
is economic growth can take place without full employment
to make clear that
or rising wages. And in fact, with the exception of the late
monetary policy should
1990s, most workers in the United States have experienced
put more emphasis
“economic growth” that way, and as a result, have not shared
on full employment
in the benefits of that growth.
than it has in recent
“The most important lesson from the 1990s,” wrote Jared
decades.”
Bernstein and Dean Baker in their book The Benefits of Full
Employment: When Markets
Work for People, “is that the economy can sustain a 4
percent unemployment rate without accelerating inflation.”22 As the unemployment rate fell, Federal Reserve
Chairman Alan Greenspan decided not to raise
interest rates as Fed watchers might have expected.
Not everyone on the Federal Reserve’s Open Market
Committee (FOMC), the body within the Fed responsible ????????????????????????????????????????)Q?????????????????????????????????????)????????????????????????????????????????????)????1???????????????I???????????????????)?????????T?L????????????????????????????????)???????????????%??????????T?L????????????????)????????????????????????????????????????)???????????????????????????????????????????)???????????????????????????????????????????Q?)?????????????????????????????????????????????)?????? ????????????????????????????????)?????????Q??e??????????????????????)???????????????????????????????????????)9??????????????????????????????????????????) ??????????????????????????????????????)?????????????Q??????????????????????????????P)???????????????????????????????????????????)????????????????????????????????Q????????)I?????????????????????????????????????)????????????????????????????????????????)?????????????????????????????????)Q?????????????????????????????????????)??????????????
?????????????????????????????() ??????????]????%??????((0