Minneapolis Fed president says normally tight-lipped central bank has a 'responsibility to speak up' about racism

The Federal Reserve normally refrains from commenting on social issues, but Neel Kashkari, the president of the Fed's Minneapolis bank, broke the mold when he addressed on Twitter the plight of institutional racism in the United States following the killing of George Floyd in his hometown.

In an interview with The New York Times, Kashkari indicated that wouldn't be the last time he or other employees of the central bank speak out on certain issues. He still doesn't believe the Fed should weigh in on partisan political matters, like choosing sides between Republicans and Democrats, but when it comes to larger societal problems like police brutality and systemic racism, he thinks "it's totally appropriate for us to weigh in."

Not only does he think it's fair for him and his colleagues to comment on these issues, he considers it necessary. "We live in our community, and if there are really pressing issues in our community, I think we have a responsibility to speak up," he said.

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Going forward, he added, the Fed "has a big role to play, even if it's outside of monetary policy" in tackling systemic racism "because people trust us as honest researchers." Read more at The New York Times.