Large Oconee crowd hears Federal Reserve region boss

Financial terms such as recession, inflation, and deflation were tossed about during Tom Barkin’s speaking engagement today in Oconee County.  A large audience in the Community Meeting Room of the Blue Ridge Electric Cooperative seemed to hang on a lot of what Barkin, president of the Federal Reserve Bank in Richmond had to say about the economy, where the economy might be headed, and his rating of the possibility for recession which some have expected for months but has yet to materialize.  In fact, said Barkin, the current economy remains healthy, business is good — notwithstanding the problems of inflation, price increases, and the difficulty many employers have trouble finding and keeping employees.  Barkin was introduced by Kyle Thomas, Blue Ridge Bank president/CEO, who was in Richmond, Virginia last week to attend his first meeting as a new member of the Community Depository Institutions Advisory Council of the FRB of Richmond.  The federal institution focuses on the economic well-being of its district that takes in Washington, DC, North and South Carolina, Maryland, Virginia, and most of West Virginia.  And, although Barkin works inside a multi-story building overlooking Richmond’s James River, he likes to get out in the district to learn about the economic concerns of employers in small-town America.  Thus, that’s why he kept his prepared remarks short, so that he could field audience questions and gauge what’s on the minds of locals.

Kyle Thomas (l) & Tom Barkin (r)