Crash Protection: The Market and Fed are Clueless

MSN: Time for Fed to taper bond purchases but not to raise rates, Powell says

Powell said he doesn't see that as the current situation, but he does see a growing tension between the Fed's two mandates of full employment and stable prices. "The risks are clearly now to longer and more persistent bottlenecks and, thus, to higher inflation," he said. For now, the Fed needs to "look through" that high inflation, despite the pain it means for households having to pay more for gas and food, in order to give time for the economy to work out supply kinks.

There is no tension. Higher inflation will mean higher unemployment. The Fed will fail on both mandates and then be forced to hike rates, creating still higher unemployment. I do think Powell may be right about the supply chain disruptions giving way, but the problem is the Federal Reserve should have started tapering 12 months ago. They're late and spawned excessive, out of control speculation in the process.