Federal Reserve Finds Increased Criticism on the Right

The Takeaway

Texas governor and presidential hopeful Rick Perry is not backing down from his threat against Ben Bernanke and the Federal Reserve. At an event in Iowa on Monday, Perry said that it would be treason if the Fed were to print more money.  The Federal Reserve is no stranger from receiving criticism, but where left-wing politicians were formerly it’s biggest critics, more recently conservatives like Ron Paul have been lashing out against the Fed. Joining us to talk about why the Fed has become such a political issue, especially among conservatives and Tea Party members, is Kate Zernike, national correspondent for The New York Times  and author of “Boiling Mad: Inside Tea Party America.” She says the economy is very complicated, people are looking for  villains, and the Fed is an easy target.

Are you with The World?

The story you just read is available to read for free because thousands of listeners and readers like you generously support our nonprofit newsroom. Every day, the reporters and producers at The World are hard at work bringing you human-centered news from across the globe. But we can’t do it without you: We need your support to ensure we can continue this work for another year.

When you make a gift of $10 or more a month, we’ll invite you to a virtual behind-the-scenes tour of our newsroom to thank you for being with The World.