Title:

Address before the New York Group of the Investment Bankers Association of America

PREVIOUS | NEXT

Address before the New York Group of the Investment Bankers Association of America

DATE: October 19, 1955

PART OF: AUTHOR: CONTRIBUTING AUTHOR:

ABSTRACT:

William McChesney Martin's Punch Bowl (Punchbowl) speech describes the Federal Reserve as a 'chaperone who has ordered the punch bowl removed just when the party was really warming up.' Earlier in the speech, Martin explains this: 'In the field of monetary and credit policy, precautionary action to prevent inflationary excesses is bound to have some onerous effects... Those who have the task of making such policy don't expect you to applaud.' In short, the punch bowl metaphor describes the Fed's job as tightening monetary policy before inflation gets out of control. Later Fed Chairs and other economic policymakers have used the 'punch bowl' metaphor in their descriptions of Fed's monetary policy actions.

Download (pdf) View Full Text

Share this page:


Diversity is critical to the Federal Reserve, and we are firmly committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive culture throughout the Federal Reserve System. Collections within FRASER contain historical language, content, and descriptions that reflect the time period within which they were created and the views of their creators. Certain collections contain objectionable content—for example, discriminatory or biased language used to refer to racial, ethnic, and cultural groups. These viewpoints and attitudes are inconsistent with our values, but the original descriptions are retained to ensure that they are not erased from the historical record.
Save & Share
less

Martin, William McChesney and Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.), 1935- "Address before the New York Group of the Investment Bankers Association of America." October 19, 1955, https://fraser.stlouisfed.org/title/448/item/7800, accessed on December 5, 2023.

More Information
less

ALTERNATE TITLES:

  • Punch Bowl Speech
  • Punchbowl Speech

THEME:

RELATED ITEMS:
Metadata (XML)
Metadata (JSON)