As my Federal Reserve colleagues and I have noted in the past, the pace of the economic recovery has been restrained by lingering effects of the financial crisis. Assessing the current strength of the headwinds related to these lingering effects is an important determinant of the economic outlook for the coming years.
We had many discussions about how to reform our system in the face of the headwind against  Japan's economy after the Plaza Accord, but we did not follow our words with action. Put differently, it was a reform by word, not in deed.