Richard Clarida

And in particular, politicians who want low interest rates

would not be getting low interest rates if the markets lost confidence in the Fed's inflation credibility.

I'm confident in Federal Reserve independence.

That's clearly what Congress intended in terms of the way the Fed is set up.

Well, hi, Scarlett.

Yes, as we used to say during my time at the Fed, the U.S.

economy is in a good place, and it is.

It's been remarkably resilient.

Growth for 2025 will probably come in north of 2%, finishing strong.

Inflation has been basically flat.

It did not really move up as a result of the tariffs.

We've had strong capital spending in the tech sector.

Now, in 2026, you've got the big, beautiful bill, which is providing a fiscal impulse.

You've got commitments from foreign countries and companies to invest in the U.S.

And obviously, the capital spending boom in the tech sector continues.

And so, indeed, I think you summarized it well.

The economy is in a pretty good place.

Okay.

Well, you know, Scarlett, I think both can be true at the same time in the sense that you have a very positive impulse from the tech sector, from tech capital investment, and obviously households that own a lot of stocks and own their own home have done quite well because of the wealth effect, you know, the K-shaped economy that you talked about.

But as you move outside of those