00:00Let me start with I did agree with the decision. I thought it was appropriate to take another bit
00:04off the policy rate. We have an economy that has been remarkably resilient, really, weathered so
00:10many different things and still consumers continue to spend, businesses continue to invest, we
00:17continue to have good growth. But we still have inflation printing above our 2% target and we
00:23need to get that down. It's gradually coming down but it's still too high. And importantly, we have
00:28a labor market that relative to last year has softened quite a bit. And you don't need
00:33to look at job growth to see that. You can look at the number of people looking for work
00:37and taking longer to find it. You can look at wage growth, which is moderated. And so we
00:42need to do two things at once. We're in what we call trade-off space. We need to continue
00:46to put downward pressure on inflation and keep our policy modestly restrictive, but not hold
00:52the reins so tight that we injure the labor market unnecessarily and give people lower
00:57inflation, but fewer jobs. So that was a balanced decision, which I completely would support.
01:03It's balancing the risks, which is really appropriate at this point in time.
01:06So that leaves the big question. You meet again in six weeks in mid-December. What do
01:11you think would make sense to do next month?
01:14Keep an open mind.
01:16I really do think, and here's why I say that. So you take 50 basis points, which is the totality
01:22of what we've done this year. You take that off the policy rate, leaves policy rate in
01:26modestly restrictive territory, in my judgment. And we also have now what better position.
01:31We've done the risk management. So the question is, do we need to do further adjustments to
01:37further risk manage, or is it a good time to take a breather and actually collect more information?
01:42Because remember, it's not a world where we're not in trade-offs. We have inflation still
01:46above target. And when you ask Americans in surveys, what are you really worried about?
01:52They're worried about inflation. We've committed. This is our job to restore price stability,
01:57return inflation to 2%, give Americans the relief they need. But in order for people to
02:03catch up from all that was lost, we also have to support the labor market. So I think this
02:07really means assessing the incoming information, keep an open mind, and make the decision that
02:13balances those risks and ensures that the economy can go on and achieve the soft landing, I think
02:19all of us have been working towards.
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