Thomas Barkin, president of the Richmond Federal Reserve Bank, pointed out that former Treasury Secretary Summers said that the Fed was "awakened" and focused too much on social issues, which was a misdescription of the Fed.
Note: Summers has previously criticized monetary policy makers in the United States and elsewhere for paying too much attention to social issues and not paying enough attention to the biggest inflation risk since the 1970s.
"my kids will never use the awakening on me," Barkin said in an interview with CNBC, adding that the Fed is focused on full employment and how to increase the labor force in areas with low participation rates.
"We are very concerned about our small towns, where the employment rate is about 10 to 11 percentage points lower than in other places; we focus on our old urban areas, where there are the same problems."
"We try to help these communities through our research, which I think is certainly within the scope of our responsibilities."
It is up in the air whether underweight bond purchases should start in November or December. "if we decide to scale back our bond purchases at the next meeting, we will discuss which of these two dates. My hunch is that if you're going to make a decision, take action. "
"inflation has increased, and some have expanded to other areas. I do think there are risks to inflation, and I look at it very carefully. "
Note: Barkin has the right to vote in monetary policy this year.