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An emerging priority for Powell Fed: The plight of the poor
Testifying to Congress this month, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell sent a message seldom heard from his predecessors: That the Fed should consider the struggles of the lowest-income Americans in setting its interest-rate policies. “We want to remind ourselves,” Powell said, “that prosperity isn’t experienced in all communities. Low- and moderate-income communities in many cases are just starting to feel the benefits of this expansion.” It wasn’t the first time Powell had sounded that theme of late. At a news conference in July, he noted that pay had begun rising fastest for lower-skilled workers, a ... (full story)