Marco Rubio called for rules-based monetary policy Wednesday night, criticizing the Federal Reserve as an out-of-touch and unaccountable entity similar straight out of Star Wars.
“The Fed is a central bank. It is not some sort of overlord of the economy. They’re not some sort of special Jedi Council that can decide the best things for us,” the Florida senator said during a Republican presidential town hall on CNN.
In response to a question from a member of the audience in Greenville, South Carolina, about the Fed’s stimulus programs, the GOP presidential candidate said the Fed should move toward rules dictating its monetary policy.
“I believe they should operate on a rules-based system, where they have a very simple rule that determines when interest rates go up and interest rates go down,” Rubio said. “Today it’s like a Magic 8-Ball. We don’t know when they’re going to raise interest rates and it creates an incredible amount of uncertainty in the marketplace.”
Rubio’s comments were among the few remarks presidential candidates have made about the central bank this election cycle. Generally, Republicans and Democrats alike have opted to discuss taxing, spending, and regulations rather than monetary policy when talking about improving the economy.
Congressional Republicans have criticized the Fed for straying from rules-based monetary policy in the wake of the financial crisis. They have advanced legislation that would require the Fed to spell out a rule relating its interest rate decisions to movements in economic indicators.
Fed chairwoman Janet Yellen and the White House have argued that such measures would deprive the Fed of its ability to respond to unusual situations, such as the recession that struck in late 2007.
