In late 2009, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke wrote the following in a column published in the Washington Post: [Proposals in Congress to reduce the independence of the Fed] are very much out of step with the global consensus on the appropriate role of central banks, and they would seriously impair the prospects for economic and financial stability in the United States.... Our ability to take [monetary policy] actions without engendering sharp increases in inflation depends heavily on our credibility and independence from short-term political pressures.

 

Why would reducing the independence of the Fed “impair the prospects for economic and financial stability in the United States”? What does Bernanke mean by “short-term political pressures”? Why would the Fed’s not being independent of short-term political pressures lead to “sharp increases in inflation”?