The article argues that the Federal Reserve's recent rate hike decision, while justifiable on inflation grounds, highlights a critical lack of an underlying, transparent policy framework. The core problem is that the Fed's decisions appear discretionary, leading to market uncertainty because the committee's judgment, rather than clear data, dictates policy shifts. The author proposes that the Fed adopt a formal monetary policy rule—an algebraic formula linking the target rate to indicators like inflation and unemployment—to replace subjective guidance. Implementing such a rule would provide market predictability, enhance transparency, and shield the Fed from political attacks by making deviations from the standard easily quantifiable.
How to Improve the Trump Administration’s Tepid Proposal to Remove Race and Ethnicity from the Decennial Census
English Summary
The Cato Institute argues that the Census Bureau's proposed removal of race and ethnicity questions from the decennial census is a necessary and overdue step to eliminate state-sanctioned racial discrimination. The authors argue that classifying people by race is inherently unethical, citing historical abuses like the use of racial data in genocide, and that the Constitution guarantees equal rights, not equal outcomes. They criticize current federal racial classification standards as absurd, noting that the definitions are often historically inaccurate and that the data collection process is merely a public opinion poll. Policy-wise, the article advocates for the complete elimination of all mandatory race and ethnicity data collection by the government, arguing that such data serves no useful purpose and only enables potential discrimination.
中文摘要
凱托學會（The Cato Institute）主張，人口普查局提議從十年一次人口普查中移除種族和族裔問題，是消除國家認可的種族歧視所必須且應當採取的步驟。作者們認為，依種族分類本身就是本質上不道德的行為，並援引歷史上的濫用案例，例如種族數據在種族滅絕中的應用。他們指出，憲法保障的是平等權利，而非平等的結果。文章批評現行的聯邦種族分類標準是荒謬的，指出其定義往往歷史不準確，且數據收集過程實質上僅為一次民意調查。從政策層面來看，本文倡導政府徹底取消所有強制性的種族和族裔數據收集，認為此類數據並無實用目的，反而可能助長潛在的歧視行為。
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