Indeed, a definitive end to the deflation in consumer prices - by restoring confidence and stimulating spending - would do much to help moderate the unemployment and financial distress that might otherwise arise as the results of aggressive programs of reform and restructuring. I preface the body of my remarks with two important caveats.
First, the opinions I give today are strictly my own and should not be attributed to my colleagues on the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve or on the Federal Open Market Committee; nor do they reflect any official position of the United States government.