News Tip: Paul Volcker Personified a Public Servant, Says Former Fed Governor

The former chairman of the Federal Reserve Board died Sunday.

Quotes:
“Paul Volcker was a giant of a Federal Reserve Board chair. The courageous steps he took to beat back inflation paved the way for an inflation-fighting sensitivity that marked future generations of Federal Reserve leaders and staff,” says Sarah Bloom Raskin, a Rubenstein Fellow at Duke University, former governor of the Federal Reserve Board and former deputy secretary of the U.S. Treasury.

“Even after his extraordinary chairmanship during a treacherous time in our nation’s economy, Paul Volcker remained committed to the importance of an independent Fed. He knew that only with independence could the Fed fulfill its mission to the American economy.”

“He never took Fed independence for granted, nor did he use it for self-aggrandizement. Volcker personified the vision of a committed public servant through and through, later weighing in critically on making structural changes to the financial system after the global financial crisis.”

“His role in crafting the so-called Volcker Rule, roundly criticized by bankers, was a manifestation of his unflagging courage in standing up -- although, of course, he was so tall he could do this while sitting -- in pursuit of the common good.” 

Bio:

Sarah Bloom Raskin is a Rubenstein Fellow at Duke University who served as governor of the Federal Reserve Board (2010-2014), and deputy secretary of the United States Treasury (2014-2017).
https://rubensteinfellows.duke.edu/fellow/sarah-bloom-raskin/

For additional comment, contact Raskin at:
sarah.raskin@duke.edu

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Media Contact:
Jeannie Naujeck
(919) 613-8565; jeannie.naujeck@duke.edu