Events like the one today, and my meeting with business leaders tomorrow, are a key part of fostering that two-way communication. With that background in mind, let me turn back to the FOMC and the making of monetary policy. I mentioned that the FOMC meets eight times per year. At those meetings, we decide on the level of monetary stimulus for the economy.
I won’t get into too many details of what that term “monetary stimulus” means, although I’m more than happy to take questions about it later. For now, I’ll just note that when the FOMC changes the level of stimulus, our actions tend to push inflation – that is, the rate of growth of prices – and employment in the same direction.