• 上周日，美联储主席鲍威尔在普林斯顿大学的毕业典礼上发表演讲，呼吁毕业生们积极投身公共服务。他还说，美国的大学“是全世界都羡慕的对象，也是国家的一笔重要财富。”但是与此同时，美国总统特朗普却威胁要取消联邦政府对一流大学的资助。
美联储主席杰罗姆・鲍威尔在出席普林斯顿大学毕业典礼时表示，大学毕业生应该考虑献身公共服务，另外也要勇于捍卫民主。他还表示，美国大学的重要地位是不容忽视的。
在上周日的演讲中，鲍威尔先是回忆了自己的职业道路，包括他在美国财政部和央行的工作经历。他说，他曾经也很不喜欢经济学，觉得这是一门“枯燥且无用”的学科。
鲍威尔说：“我强烈建议你们在职业生涯中抽出一点时间用于公共服务。自美国建国250年以来，一代又一代人肩负起历史使命，让我们逐步迈向‘人人生而平等’的理想。现在轮到你们了。”
作为一个在任的领导，上面这番话只能算是常规内容。但是值得注意的是，特朗普政府刚刚对联邦部门进行了大幅裁员，甚至连一些返聘的核武专家都没能幸免。
当然，鲍威尔也保持了美联储官员的典型作派，不回应货币政策以外的任何问题，尤其是政治事务。
鲍威尔在演讲中还指出，美国之所以能在科技创新和经济活力等许多方面领先世界，原因绝非偶然。
他表示：“美国的顶尖大学是全世界羡慕的对象，也是美国的一笔重要资产。看看你们周围，不要把这些当作理所应当。希望50年后，当你们回首往事时，你们竭力维护和巩固了美国的民主制度，并让我们更加接近了美国开国元勋们跨时代的理想信念。”
在演讲中，他既没有提特朗普，也没有提到特朗普试图削减对大学的拨款的事。但是就在几天前，特朗普政府刚刚对哈佛大学下了狠手。
就在上周四，美国国土安全部取消了哈佛大学招收国际学生的资格，此举很可能会对重创哈佛吸引顶尖人才的能力。
上周五，一名联邦法官叫停了这份行政令，但这也只是暂时的，下一步特朗普政府能对哈佛大学和整个美国大学界干出什么事，这谁也不知道。
与此同时，尽管通胀压力仍然存在，特朗普仍在施压鲍威尔降息，只是未能成功。特朗普还对鲍威尔进行了人身攻击，甚至在社交媒体上称“鲍威尔越快离职越好！”
鲍威尔曾表示，就算特朗普要求他辞职，他也不会照做，他还说特朗普无权解雇自己。特朗普也在本月早些时候表示他不会强行解雇鲍威尔，但他还说，他可能很快就会有机会提名一个鲍威尔的继任者了。
上周日在普林斯顿大学发表演讲时，鲍威尔也为美联储应对新冠疫情的做法进行了辩护。在演讲结尾，他说道：“你的生命不仅对你自己很重要，对爱你的人也同样重要。”
他还说：“五十年后，当你回首往事时，你会希望自己在人生每个阶段做的都是你认为正确的事。最终，我们的品格就是我们所拥有的全部——请悉心守护它。”
美联储并未立即回应我们的置评请求。（财富中文网）
译者：朴成奎
• The Federal Reserve chairman gave a commence address at Princeton on Sunday and urged graduating students to consider public service. He also told them that American universities are “the envy of the world and a crucial national asset.” That comes as President Donald Trump has threatened to take away federal funding from top U.S. colleges.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell urged Princeton graduates to consider public service, while also calling on them to preserve democracy and reminding them that U.S. universities shouldn’t be taken for granted.
In a commencement address on Sunday, he recalled his own career path, which included the Treasury Department and eventually the central bank, despite admitting that he once dismissed economics as a “boring and useless” subject.
“I strongly urge you to find time in your careers for public service,” Powell said. “Since the founding of this great democracy 250 years ago, generation upon generation have assumed the burden and the honor of moving us closer to the ideal that all are created equal. Now it’s your turn.”
While such exhortations are often standard fare in commencement speeches, it comes as President Donald Trump’s administration has slashed the federal workforce, even nuclear weapons experts who had to be hired back.
To be sure, Powell has been careful not to respond to issues outside of monetary policy, especially on political matters, as Fed officials have traditionally done.
Powell also pointed out that the U.S. leads the world in many ways, including in scientific innovation and economic dynamism. That’s no accident.
“Our great universities are the envy of the world and a crucial national asset,” he said. “Look around you, and I urge you to take none of this for granted. When you look back in 50 years, you will want to know that you’ve done whatever it takes to preserve and strengthen our democracy and bring us ever closer to the Founders’ timeless ideals.”
He didn’t mention Trump or his efforts to threaten federal funding for top U.S. universities. But Powell’s speech comes days after the administration sharply escalated its campaign against Harvard.
On Thursday, the Department of Homeland Security revoked Harvard’s ability to enroll international students, threatening to deal a crippling blow to the school’s ability to attract top talent.
A federal judge blocked the order on Friday, but the relief is only temporary, and the government’s threat still looms over Harvard and U.S. higher education overall.
Meanwhile, Trump has also pressured Powell, unsuccessfully, to lower interest rates despite lingering inflationary pressures. Trump has lobbed personal insults as well, and even said on social media that “Powell’s termination cannot come fast enough!”
Powell has said he wouldn’t resign if Trump asked and maintained that Trump can’t fire him. The president ruled that out earlier this month, noting that he will get a chance to nominate a replacement soon anyway.
While speaking at Princeton on Sunday, Powell defended the Fed’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and ended his address by saying “your life matters not just to you, but to the people who love you.”
“Fifty years from now you’ll want to be able to look in the mirror and know that you did what you thought was right in every part of your life,” he added. “At the end of the day, our integrity is all we have—guard it carefully.”
The Fed didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.