Missing ‘Gold Standard’ Economic Data Will Test Alternatives in US Shutdown

Thank you, Sarah, thank you to those in Fed Education who helped put together this event, and thank you to the teachers here and online who have put aside some of their planning time to listen and, I hope, also participate. If I were doing the grading, credit would always be granted for participation. We have scheduled this discussion with teachers well into the school year, partly to highlight the beginning, on October 1, of Economic Education Month. At the Fed, every month is Economic Education Month, and we are glad to join in the celebration. It is, fortunately, a very different time for teachers than the one we faced in August 2021, the last time we held this discussion with educators. In the crisis of the pandemic, teachers were on the front lines. I know how overwhelming this challenge was for many of you, and the extent of your sacrifice, for which I thank you. And the crisis in many ways continues, as research confirms the educational deficits that students still suffer from the pandemic. In addition to the challenges they face, there are likely to be consequences for the economy and for society, in a generation of young people who may lack some of what they need to be well-informed and engaged participants in our economy and our democracy. Addressing this legacy of the pandemic is a major public policy challenge, so now more than ever, teachers are crucial to America's future. A large majority of you are economic educators, a role that is of particular importance. As many of you know, the Fed's ability to influence the economy depends to some extent on influencing the public's view of current and future economic conditions. When my tweet: FED CHAIR POWELL DOES NOT COMMENT ON OUTLOOK FOR MONETARY POLICY, ECONOMY IN PREPARED REMARKS TO TEACHERS' TOWN HALL

tweet: FED'S BARKIN: VERY HARD TO IMAGINE INFLATION EASING A LOT WHILE GROWTH IS VERY STRONG tweet: FED'S BARKIN: LAST FIVE MONTHS OF INFLATION DATA HAVE BEEN ENCOURAGING tweet: *FED'S BARKIN SAYS SKILLED TRADES SEEING WAGE PRESSURE *FED'S BARKIN SAYS DOESN'T SEE `TRAUMA' COMING IN LABOR MARKET *FED'S BARKIN SEES NEXT QUARTER AS SOLID, NOT ROBUST

tweet: FED'S BARKIN: A LACK OF DATA DUE TO A SHUTDOWN WOULD COMPLICATE UNDERSTANDING ECONOMY. tweet: FED'S BARKIN: CREDIT CARD SPENDING DATA IS A GOOD ALTERNATIVE DATA. tweet: FED'S BARKIN: RECENT DATA ON CONSUMER SPENDING STRONGER THAN EXPECTED, SOLID tweet: FED'S BARKIN: GROWTH STILL SEEMS 'SOLID' IN ECONOMY FED'S BARKIN: GROWTH WILL MODERATE FROM EARLIER IN THE YEAR tweet: FED'S BARKIN: TOO SOON TO SAY WHAT'S NEXT FOR MONETARY POLICY