of the consensus view led chancellor of the exchequer geoffrey howe to define an economist as “ a man who knows 364 ways of making love, but doesn ’ t know any women. ” 3 to be sure, economic theories and econometric models are of great utility for providing a framework for policymaking ; we cannot make policy without them. but they are imperfect substitutes for common sense. the late new york intellectual irving kristol is reported to have said : “ don ’ t fall for fantastical notions that have nothing to do with the way people really are. ” 4 my experience of having worked in real time in the financial markets leads me to a different perspective on financial operators and markets than that of most of my colleagues see www. number10. gov. uk / history - and - tour / prime - ministers - in - history / margaret - thatcher. see “ were 364 economists all wrong? ” institute of economic affairs, www. iea. org. uk / sites / default / files / publications / files / upldbook310pdf. pdf. see “ were 364 economists all wrong? ” bbc newsnight report by stephanie flanders, http : / / news. bbc. co. uk / 2 / hi / programmes / newsnight / 4803858. stm. see “ three cheers for irving, ” by david brooks, new york times, sept. 22, 2009. bis central bankers ’ speeches at the federal open market committee ( fomc ). this not only affects my views on the implementation of monetary policy, but also shapes my perspective on regulation. monetary policy and regulation are intricately linked. when conducting its monetary policy, the fed is governed by a dual mandate : creating the monetary conditions to foster maximum employment growth while constraining inflation and its alter ego, deflation. these goals cannot be realized without financial stability that results from effective regulation. as the fomc now sets its sights on concluding the accommodative monetary policy it fashioned to stave off financial collapse and deflation, our supervision and regulation team is wrestling with developing the appropriate policy for dealing with the lingering effects of the financial crisis, and, most importantly, erecting a new regulatory framework to substantially reduce the chances of financial crises. or at least make them more manageable, should one occur again. ( in all candor, it would be more historically accurate to say “ when one occurs again, ” because crises and panics have occurred repeatedly

; population growth within texas has compounded over the past two decades by 2 percent per annum, versus 1. 1 percent for the rest of the nation. we now have the second - largest congressional delegation in the country behind california. but the growth dynamic here is vibrant, whereas that of california is stagnant. this is why we are picking up population and congressional seats, while the recent u. s. census apportioned no additional seats to california. in sum, we are a vibrant and strong economy. the economic tenor in california and the rest of america is weary, if not downright weak : somos fuerte ; los otros son flojos. since the recent economic recession ended, texas has been responsible for 48 percent of all the jobs created in america. and yet, the hispanic population is not participating in our economic prosperity in proportion to its weight in the texas census. bis central bankers ’ speeches the unemployment rate among latinos here is substantially higher than it is for non - hispanic texans. hispanics earn 36 percent less in hourly wages than non - hispanic whites ; median household income of latino - headed households in texas is about 60 percent of median household income of non - hispanic households. for the u. s. as a whole, latino - headed households earn about 73 percent of non - hispanic white household income. pia orrenius and our other economists are hard at work in deciphering what accounts for the differences between the economic status of texas hispanics and latinos elsewhere in the u. s. already, one factor is clear : hispanic educational achievement in texas is abysmal. in texas, as anywhere else in the united states and in all capitalist societies, “ you earn what you learn. ” every study known to man, and plain common sense, tell you that income is directly correlated to educational attainment. high school graduates earn significantly more than high school dropouts ; a college degree results in greater lifetime earnings than a high school degree ; the highest income groups are those with graduate degrees. nearly 50 percent of texas public schoolchildren are hispanic, but only 38 percent of high school graduates are hispanic. some 54 percent of non - hispanic whites and 48 percent of non - hispanic blacks age 18 to 24 with a high school degree were in college in 2008. the percentage of hispanics was only 43 percent. within the age cohort between 25 and 64, only 14 percent of native - born texas latinos have college degrees ; 23 percent of