Here is your economics lesson for the day. I’ll make it very simple.The government can influence the economy by two basic methods--monetary policy and fiscal policy.

Monetary policy is concerned with the money supply--how much money is available in the economy. Monetary policy is mostly the responsibility of the Federal Reserve Board, which sets the interest rate for loans to banks in the Federal Reserve System. In a recession, the Fed, as it is usually called, lowers the interest rate. If you can take out a car loan at 2% interest, you are much more likely to borrow money than if the loan comes with a 20% interest rate. A low interest rate encourages people to buy goods, which increases the need for workers to make, distribute, and sell the goods, all of which stimulates the economy. In an inflationary period, the Fed raises interest rates. There are other steps the Fed can take, but that is enough for today’s lesson.

In April 1960 I was one of four Pennsylvania delegates to the National 4-H Conference in Washington, D.C. Two hundred 4-H’ers spent a week there attending workshops and and touring the city. One day we were bused to the White House lawn to meet President Eisenhower.

At that time I was 17--unable to vote for four more years--but I considered myself a liberal Democrat. I thought Ike had betrayed the Hungarian Revolution, and I couldn't abide his Vice President. My mom didn’t like him either. In ‘52 and ‘56 she was a campaign volunteer for Stevenson.