It’s not a joke. I pick this up from the forum, which you should join:
i should tell the story about my job interview with the fed here in kansas city. they asked me about optimal monetary policy, and hilarity quickly ensued.
so they started off asking basic technocratic economic questions…”what should the fed do when inflation is increasing?”, “why do bond prices and their yields move in opposite directions?”, “what happens when the fed increases the reserve requirement?”, etc. i prefaced every answer with the words “the textbook says…” so when inflation is increasing, i said “the textbook says you raise rates.” they noticed, and at the end of the interview they asked why i prefaced every answer with “the textbook says…” i said, “because i don’t always agree with the textbook, particularly when it comes to the actions of the federal reserve.” i then turned the tables and put them on the defensive. a nutshell:
me: what are your feelings on price and wage controls?
them: we’re against them.
me: do you disagree that interest rates are prices, that they communicate information about the real state of the economy, the capital structure, and producer/consumer sentiments?
them: it’s more complicated than that…
me: if you don’t have another interview scheduled after mine, i don’t mind waiting and listening to your explanation. how exactly can the fed manipulate interest rates and not expect consequences not unlike those that result from controlling other prices and wages (ie…minimum wage, rent control, etc)?
them: the nature of money is very different than is the nature of other goods and services. blah, blah, blah…
me: fair enough, but that doesn’t distract from the fact that distorting the price of money, as communicated by interest rates, has effects on the real economy. if it didn’t there would be no need for the fed in the first place. if the fed’s actions had no real effect, it would be a redundant institution, no?
them: ………………………..
me: i’ll show myself out. thanks.
{ 13 comments }
An interesting post that made me chuckle. Situations like this make me wonder what I would say if in the same place. If confronted with a Fed bureaucrat, or better yet, met Ben Bernanke, what would I say? Nothing productive would come of it, as I imagine I would expend most of my brainpower restraining myself from delivering vitriolic invective, insults and curses.
What was this guy expecting? For them to roll over and admit it’s all a scam?
Why would an “Austrian” apply for a job at the Kansas City Fed in the first place? To play gotcha-grab-ass in an interview and waste everyone’s time?
Or maybe he’s part of the New Wave of Austrianism that promotes the ‘practical’ philosophy of Austrian infiltration of the hate machine (govt), whereby we can turn that evil device against its creators and once and for all use it for good?
them: ………………………..
me: i’ll show myself out. thanks.
lol
Actually the guy felt he wouldn’t be hired anyway, so he was more like “why not have enjoy some of this”
Taylor, why the hell do you care? The government wastes our time, money, and life, so why are you feeling bad for this guy wasting some criminal’s time?
Its people like you that prevent anything from being done. We need to stop complaining and take action, and this is at least half a step in the right direction
.”what should the fed do when inflation is increasing?”, “why do bond prices and their yields move in opposite directions?”, “what happens when the fed increases the reserve requirement?”
These questions were really asked of an econ PhD?
One of coworkers tends Austrian, and he worked for the Fed for his last job. Granted, he’s an engineer, not an economist, and he made paper, he didn’t set monetary policy, but he did “infiltrate the creature”.
Pwned.
I think it is good to interview with them. Was it not interesting to publicize this interview? Would it not have been even more interesting to work there for a year make more recordings and put them on youtube? would it not be more interesting to become a active mole for many years, rise up the ranks, occasionally leak information and write an very embarassing book about the Fed someday? all funded by a Fed salary? sounds like better than nothing.
So?
He get the job?
English Bob:
I seriously doubt the guy was an econ Ph.D. I just graduated with a bachelor’s in finance and the Fed and FDIC recruit a lot of people with bachelor’s degrees in business and econ to fill their bureaucratic positions.
“Why would an “Austrian” apply for a job at the Kansas City Fed in the first place? To play gotcha-grab-ass in an interview and waste everyone’s time?”
In my opinion, wasting the time and thus slowing down some of the FED officials is time well spent.
I interviewed at the Richmond Fed 30 years ago, and I think that working at a Fed job is a legitimate activity for Austrians. In fact, my firm belief is that my Austrian perspective would have far better equipped me to implement monetary policy than other perspectives. My personal preference for a monetary policy tied to a gold coin standard would have provided fertile ground for interesting discussions.
Comments on this entry are closed.