, Columnist
Young People Don't Share the Fed's Irrational Exuberance
That's a problem if older policy makers forge ahead as though the economy were improving.
It's baby boomers' economy. We just live in it.
Photographer: Win McNamee/Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
The Federal Reserve surprised markets last week when multiple speakers, concluding with Chair Janet Yellen on Friday, talked up the odds of a rate hike at the upcoming March meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee. The surge in economic confidence that has occurred since the presidential election in November has found its way to members of the Federal Reserve.
But the rising confidence should give us pause. There's a confidence gap between the people making investment and policy decisions and the people driving the economy. If policy makers turn out to be overconfident, they may tighten monetary policy too quickly, perhaps risking an early recession.