Name: 聯準會為何能掌控美國經濟如此多？ | WSJ (Why the Federal Reserve Controls So Much of the Economy | WSJ)
Uploaded: 2025-12-02T13:30:28.000Z
Duration: 9 min 31 s

At the top of any US Dollar bill, you'll see this.

在任何一張 美元 紙鈔頂部，你會看到這個。

情態副詞

That's because even though the bill may have come from the treasury, the Federal Reserve is who actually distributes it.

這是因為，雖然紙鈔可能來自財政部，但 聯邦準備理事會 才是實際發行者。

They're the ones that's charged with managing the currency in circulation in our economy.

他們負責管理我們 經濟 中的 流通貨幣。

In other words, they can kind of print money.

換句話說，他們可以算是印鈔票。

That was a popular meme in 2020, when the Fed was creating money out of thin air.

這在 2020 年是一個很紅的 迷因，當時 聯邦準備理事會 憑空創造了許多貨幣。

The Federal Reserve is in many ways in charge of the US Economy.

聯邦準備理事會 在很多方面都掌管著 美國 經濟。

As a former chairman once said, they're the economy's chaperone who has ordered the punch bowl removed just when the party was really warming up.

正如一位前主席曾說過，他們就像是經濟的保姆，在派對正熱時就先把酒拿走了。

Which means they know their decisions, like raising interest rates, aren't always popular.

這意味著他們知道自己的決定，像是升息，並不總是受歡迎的。

The Fed is just this poorly understood and really important institution in our country.

聯邦準備理事會是我們國家一個不太被理解但卻非常重要的機構。

It's important for people to know what's going on in the economy.

大家瞭解經濟正在發生什麼事是很重要的。

They should understand why we have the Fed, why it does what it does, and

他們應該要明白為什麼要有聯邦準備理事會，它為什麼要做這些事，

以及它在國家裡扮演什麼樣的角色。

How did the Fed get put in charge of the punch?

聯邦準備理事會是怎麼被賦予管理「派對」的權力的？

The Fed as we know it has evolved over time after responses to financial crises gave it more and more responsibility.

我們所知的聯邦準備理事會是隨著時間演變而來的，在應對金融危機後，它承擔了越來越多的責任。

So let's start with why the Fed was created in the first place.

所以，我們就從一開始聯邦準備理事會為何被創立說起。

In the early 1900s, bank runs were pretty common.

在二十世紀初期，銀行擠兌是很常見的。

If a bank, a private business, went out of business, that meant everyone lost their deposits.

如果一家銀行，一個私人企業，倒閉了，那就代表所有人失去了他們的存款。

Fearful people would run to their healthy bank to withdraw their money.

害怕的民眾就會衝到他們認為健全的銀行提領現金。

Only banks didn't keep that much cash handy.

但銀行其實沒有準備那麼多現金在手邊。

So they'd fail, causing more people to fearfully run to their bank.

所以銀行就會倒閉，導致更多人害怕地衝向他們的銀行。

And back then, there was nowhere for these banks to get more cash to stop these runs.

而且當時，銀行沒有地方可以取得更多現金來阻止擠兌。

After a large run in 1907, wealthy bankers like J.P.

在 1907 年發生大規模擠兌後，像 J.P. Morgan 這樣富有的銀行家們就拿出自己的錢來救助這些銀行。

morgan put up their own money to essentially bail them out.

在 1907 年那次恐慌之後，銀行界和政界領袖們聚在一起說，也許讓幾個有錢人來決定危機時該怎麼做，不是管理現代經濟的最佳方式。

After that panic in 1907, bank business and political leaders got together and said, maybe this isn't the best way to run a modern economy, to rely on a few wealthy individuals doing the right thing in a time of crisis.

是以，大家開始討論創立中央銀行，也就是後來演變成聯邦準備理事會的體系。

And so discussions began about creating a central bank, or what became the Federal reserve system.

聯邦準備理事會被創立，成為美國的中央銀行體系，基本上就是銀行的銀行。

The Federal Reserve was created to be the United States central banking system, basically a bank for banks.

It's 12 separate Federal Reserve banks set up all across the country.

這是遍佈全國的 12 家獨立聯邦準備理事會銀行。

You had a lot of distrust still in the country over having one bank.

當時全國對單一銀行還是很不信任。

The idea was that it might be too powerful.

想法是，單一銀行可能會太有權力。

So you could go to different parts of the country and say, well, the power won't be in New York, it won't be in Washington, it'll be here.

所以你可以到國家不同地方說，權力不會在紐約，也不會在華盛頓，會在這邊。

There'll be a bank in Atlanta, there'll be a bank in Kansas City, there'll be a bank in San Francisco, in Minneapolis, and

會有一家銀行在亞特蘭大，一家在堪薩斯市，一家在舊金山，一家在明尼亞波利斯，還有

There was a senator from Missouri who was instrumental in creating the Federal Reserve System.

有一位來自密蘇裡州的參議員，在創立聯邦準備理事會體繫上扮演了關鍵角色。

And lo and behold, there's a Fed bank in Central St. Louis and in Kansas City.

結果呢，聖路易市中心和堪薩斯市都有聯邦準備理事會銀行。

The idea was they would each represent different regions of the country and would independently set their own policies and interest rates on the money banks would keep with them.

想法是，它們會各自代表國家不同區域，並獨立設定各自的政策和銀行存放在它們那裡的利率。

There was also a president put in charge of each bank.

It's widely agreed by historians that the Federal Reserve Bank's inaction and them keeping the circulation of money and lending too tight made the Depression worse.

歷史學家普遍認為，聯邦準備理事會的無所作為，以及他們緊縮貨幣流通和放貸，讓大蕭條變得更糟。

And by widely agreed, nearly a century later, a Fed governor said, we did it.

而所謂的普遍認為，將近一個世紀後，一位聯準會的理事說，是我們造成的。

There were concerns even before the Great Depression that the political compromise that had been necessary to create this thing had created too much decentralized power.

在大蕭條之前，就已經有人擔心，為了創立這個體系所做的政治妥協，導致了過於分散的權力。

So in 1935, Congress put the Washington based Board of Governors in charge.

於是，在1935年，國會讓位於華盛頓的理事會負起責任。

It would be a group of seven people from different parts of the country, including a chairman each nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate.

這個理事會將由七位來自國家不同地區的人組成，其中包括一位由總統提名、參議院確認的主席。

他們監督聯邦準備理事會體系。

These banks, they also serve on the Federal Open Market Committee, the fomc, which also includes five bank presidentsonsone from New York and four that rotate.

這些銀行也參與聯邦公開市場委員會（FOMC），該委員會還包括五位銀行總裁，一位來自紐約，四位輪流擔任。

This is the group of people who get together and decide things like interest rates.

這就是一群人聚集在一起，決定像是利率這樣的事情。

When you talk about a Fed meeting, you're talking about a meeting of the fomc.

當你說到聯準會開會時，你說的就是 FOMC 的會議。

The terms become interchangeable because there are certain things that the FOMC does, there are certain things that the Fed board does, and

這些術語變得可以互換，因為 FOMC 有些事情要做，聯準會理事會也有些事情要做，

So that's how we got to the basic foundation of the Fed.

所以這就是我們如何建立起聯準會的基礎。

But the Fed as we know it today, with its many responsibilities, was built from responses to even more financial crises.

但我們今天所知的聯準會，以及它眾多的職責，是從應對更多金融危機中建立起來的。

In the 70s and in 1978, when Congress gave the Fed, or really the FOMC, two main priorities, the Fed was given a dual mandate to focus on stable prices and maximum employment.

在七零年代和一九七八年，國會賦予聯準會，或者更確切地說，FOMC 兩個主要優先事項，聯準會被賦予了雙重使命，要專注於物價穩定和充分就業。

Now sometimes those goals conflict with each other.

現在，有時候這兩個目標會互相衝突。

When you're trying to crush inflation, sometimes you're going to do things that cause unemployment to go up.

當你試圖抑制通貨膨脹時，有時候你會做一些導致失業率上升的事情。

But the mandate really said the Fed should take both of these objectives into account when they set policy.

但這項任務實際上是說，聯準會在制定政策時，應該同時考量這兩個目標。

This was because in the 70s inflation was really high, called the great Inflation.

這是因為在七零年代，通貨膨脹非常嚴重，稱為「大通膨」。

Now a mix of bad luck and bad policies saw inflation reach nearly 15%.

現在，運氣不好加上錯誤的政策，導致通貨膨脹率接近 15%。

There were concerns that the Fed succumbed to political pressure in the early 1970s because the Fed chair at the time, Arthur Burns, was friendly with the President and Nixon did not want him to raise interest rates before his reelection in 1972.

有人擔心聯準會在 1970 年代初期屈服於政治壓力，因為當時的聯準會主席亞瑟·伯恩斯與總統關係友好，而尼克森在 1972 年連任前不希望他提高利率。

So the whole experience of the great inflation reinforced this idea that we should have politically independent central banking, that generally when you kept politics out of the FOMC boardroom, you had better economic outcomes.

是以，整個大通膨的經驗強化了我們應該擁有政治上獨立的中央銀行這個想法，也就是說，當政治不幹預 FOMC 會議室時，經濟成果通常會更好。

In 1979, President Jimmy Carter put Paul Volcker in charge of the Fed and he raised interest rates a lot, like to nearly 20%.

1979 年，吉米·卡特總統任命保羅·沃克擔任聯準會主席，他大幅提高利率，接近 20%。

Unemployment skyrocketed and rose above 10%.

Homebuilders would mail two by fours to the Fed and say stop these oppressive interest rates.

房屋建築商會寄送兩吋四吋的木材給聯準會，說停止這些壓迫性的利率。

They would mail keys for cars and houses to the Fed saying these are homes and cars that aren't being sold.

他們會寄送汽車和房屋的鑰匙給聯準會，說這些是賣不出去的房屋和汽車。

There were tractors that protested driving around the Fed's headquarters.

有些拖拉機甚至開到聯準會總部外抗議。

History has vindicated the moves of the Volcker Fed.

歷史證明瞭沃克擔任聯準會主席時的決策是正確的。

He's lionized today as this figure who did something that was really hard and really unpopular.

他現在被譽為一位做了非常困難且不受歡迎事情的傳奇人物。

But if you look at the US economy over the 30 years that followed, the US economy performed better than most other advanced economies.

但如果看看之後 30 年的美國經濟，表現比大多數其他已開發國家都好。

The Fed gained credibility because it was politically independent, since politics don't always make great economic policies.

聯準會贏得了信譽，因為它在政治上是獨立的，畢竟政治不一定總能做出好的經濟政策。

And when the 2008 financial crisis arrived, the Fed chairman Ben Bernanke learned from lessons of the past.

而當 2008 年金融危機來臨時，聯準會主席班·柏南克從過去的經驗中學到了教訓。

The bold measures the Fed took in response to the recent financial crisis reflected in part its determination to avoid repeating the same sorts of mistakes it made before and during the Great depression of the 1930s.

聯準會在應對近期金融危機時所採取的果斷措施，部分反映了它決心避免重蹈過去以及 1930 年代大蕭條時期的覆轍。

Those bold measures included things the Fed had never done before, like dropping interest rates to near zero for the first time.

這些果斷措施包括聯準會前所未有的行動，例如首次將利率降至接近零。

In addition to managing the currency in circulation and the occasional treasury security, it started loaning money, a lot of money, to non banks.

除了管理流通貨幣和偶爾的國庫券，它還開始向非銀行機構貸款，而且是大量的貸款。

It also got into new markets, buying things like mortgage securities.

它也進入了新的市場，購買了像是抵押貸款擔保債券等商品。

這一切都是為了要往經濟裡注入資金。

This got the Fed even more involved in parts of the financial system beyond just currency and interest rates.

這讓聯準會更深入地介入了金融系統的各個部分，而不僅僅是流通貨幣和利率。

One of the things Bernanke was well regarded for was that he just threw everything against the wall to see what would stick.

班南克備受讚譽的一點是，他什麼方法都試，看看哪個有效。

We call it the Great Recession and not the second Great Depression.

我們稱之為「大衰退」，而不是第二次「大蕭條」。

And Congress also gave it more authority of oversight and regulation of the banking system through Dodd Frank and just kind of by default of inaction, government spending retreated after the stimulus in 2009.

國會透過《陶德-佛蘭克法案》賦予了它更多銀行體系的監督和監管權力，而由於政府在 2009 年刺激措施後沒有採取行動，政府支出也隨之減少。

And so there was this saying that the Fed had become the only game in town.

所以當時有句俗話說，聯準會成了「鎮上唯一的遊戲」。

If you needed to stimulate your economy, you weren't going to be able to cut taxes or, or spend more money because Congress didn't want to do that.

如果你需要刺激經濟，你無法減稅或增加支出，因為國會不想這麼做。

What ended up happening was that financial markets to a greater and greater degree, began to hang on every word and every utterance of the Fed chair.

結果是，金融市場越來越依賴聯準會主席的一言一行。

Because now monetary policy was just so important to the markets and also to the economic outlook for the country.

因為現在貨幣政策對市場以及國家的經濟前景都變得非常重要。

The Fed took from the Great Recession playbook, it bought those same assets, it began loaning more money to even more non banks and it raised the amount of money in circulation.

聯準會沿用了大衰退時的劇本，買進了相同的資產，開始借更多錢給更多非銀行機構，並增加了流通貨幣的數量。

What you see is a central bank that during periods of severe stress, really, you know, national emergency, is willing to do quite a lot to make sure that the economy and the financial system holds together, including when inflation rises.

你看到的是一個中央銀行，在嚴重壓力時期，真的，你知道的，國家緊急狀態下，願意做很多事來確保經濟和金融體系能夠撐下去，即使在通膨上升的時候也是如此。

Today, in support of these goals, the FOMC raised its policy interest rate by 1/4 percentage point.

今天，為了支持這些目標，聯邦公開市場委員會將其政策利率提高了 1/4 個百分點。

The Federal Reserve began as a response to a financial crisis and has only grown with each one since.

聯邦準備理事會的成立是為了應對金融危機，而且自那以來，隨著每一次危機的發生而不斷壯大。

The Fed is primarily still a bank for banks, but

聯準會主要仍然是銀行的銀行，但