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Speak Out to the Federal Reserve!

Progressives falsely assume this mysterious institution is impervious to public pressure. We need to make our voices heard.

William Greider

November 8, 2012

Federal Reserve governors are not secluded like Supreme Court justices. They talk to bankers regularly, and the Fed’s website invites feedback from citizens. It’s time for progressives to speak directly to our most powerful banking institution. The Fed can be contacted at Twentieth Street and Constitution Avenue NW; Washington, DC 20551; 202-974-7008. Here is a list of the governors, with e-mail addresses (where available): 

Ben Bernanke: The Fed chair, a Republican, was first appointed by George W. Bush and reappointed by Obama. Term expires January 2014.

Janet Yellen, yellen@haas.berkeley.edu: The Fed vice chair; formerly president of the San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank. Considered moderately liberal on economic issues. 

Elizabeth Duke, Elizabeth.A.Duke@FRB.gov: Community banker from Virginia, former vice president of Wachovia bank and chair of the American Bankers Association. With her term now expired, this last remaining Bush appointee serves until a replacement is named. 

Daniel Tarullo, tarullod@law.georgetown.edu: Former international economic adviser to Bill Clinton and Georgetown law professor. The Fed’s point man on drafting the Dodd-Frank law, he has complained it doesn’t give regulators the authority to do what many in Congress hoped to accomplish. 

Sarah Bloom Raskin, Sarah.BloomRaskin@FRB.gov: A liberal reformer, she supervised financial regulation for the State of Maryland. Strongly critical of “low road” bankers, she calls for stiffer penalties. 

Jeremy Stein, Jeremy.C.Stein@FRB.gov: Former adviser to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and a Harvard economist, said to be midway between hawks and doves on inflation.

Jerome Powell, Jerome.Powell@FRB.gov: Former partner of the private equity firm Carlyle Group and treasury undersecretary for George H.W. Bush. The Fed’s richest governor, worth as much as $72 million, according to disclosure forms filed when Obama nominated him.

Editor's Note: Some of the e-mail addresses provided for Federal Reserve Board members in this piece were originally incorrect. The e-mail addresses for Janet Yellen, Daniel Tarullo and Jerome Powell have been fixed and the incorrect e-mail address for Ben Bernanke has been removed. The best way to reach Ben Bernanke is by contacting him at the mailing address and phone number given in the original piece: Twentieth Street and Constitution Avenue NW; Washington, DC 20551; 202-974-7008.

William Greider blogs at TheNation.com. On September 24, he warned that “The Stimulus Alone Won’t Fix the Economy.“

William GreiderWilliam Greider is The Nation’s national-affairs correspondent.


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