Austan Goolsbee, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, who is not a voting member of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) in 2026 because Chicago’s seat rotated off the voting list after 2025, delivered a blunt inflation warning on PBS NewsHour: “We have a real inflation problem and will have to address it.” He called the latest CPI report “borderline disturbing” and named persistent services inflation as his biggest concern.
The risk grows if price pressures lock in. Goolsbee said it would be a major concern if inflation became embedded in expectations, and he said the Fed will have to confront inflation if it persists.
Turning to policy, he kept every option open but made the goal plain: inflation has to come down to target.
He also pointed to how rates reach the real economy, noting that business spending responds to interest rates. The job market gives him less cause for alarm. He called it steady and stable, which puts the focus back on prices.
Key Quotes:
Inflation
It would be a major concern if inflation became embedded in expectations
We’ll have to confront inflation if it persists
My concern is emerging widespread price overheating
Both cost and demand pressures are driving inflation
CPI report was ‘borderline disturbing’, with persistent services inflation the biggest concern
We have a real inflation problem and will have to address it
Monetary Policy
All options remain open; must reduce inflation to target
Business spending is influenced by interest rates
Labor Market
The job market remains steady and stable