An American business leader and billionaire has shared a "Draconian" suggestion for the Federal Reserve board to resign, claiming its action to tackle inflation will leave America’s economy in a "painful" spot.
"They've blown this from the very beginning," Home Depot co-founder Ken Langone said on "Cavuto: Coast to Coast" Wednesday. "We're now dealing with the price we've got to pay for free money, and it's going to be painful and it's not going to be easy."
Langone’s comments come just hours before the Federal Reserve is expected to deliver its next rate hike decision. The billionaire businessman ripped into the Fed’s inflation response, and called for the entire board to recuse themselves from office.
"We're just talking about spending money, that's all we're doing. We've already got a serious inflation problem, and you're going to put more gasoline on the fire," Langone told host Neil Cavuto. "I think this Federal Reserve Board should all resign right now."
HOME DEPOT FOUNDER SCHOOLS FED, BIDEN OVER THE ‘TRAGEDY’ THAT COMES WITH INFLATION
"Powell, I don't know [how] his background lends itself to his job here," he continued, "but I can think of people like, and again I'm partial, Kevin Warsh, Larry Lindsey, Stan Druckenmiller... we need a William McChesney Martin."
Former Fed chairs spoke and acted with authority, knowledge and experience, Langone argued while noting modern monetary policymakers are "a bunch of academics, they’re students."
"Alan Greenspan – these guys were pros. Bernanke, they were pros," Langone pointed out. "But right now, I think the talent is there; the will to fix it is not. I'm sorry to be so brutal on the Fed, but I think they all ought to resign. I don't know how anybody can have confidence in this Federal Reserve Board right now based on what's going on in America."
The Home Depot founder called for a "more sober approach" to the country’s economic needs and advised pulling back on government spending.
"You got an administration that's spending money like a drunk sailor. Every program they see, they want. They're completely indifferent to what it costs," Langone said. "All this White House knows is spend, spend, spend, spend in an environment where you already have serious inflation."
Admitting he wishes he had a solution, the billionaire investor expressed his fears the economy must go through "conventional phases" of recovery, such as a recession.
"The question is: how bad a recession?" Langone stressed. "I'm more and more becoming convinced it's going to be a serious recession, not a mild one."
Despite "more pain" being necessary for a full recovery, the entrepreneur and investor clarified he’s still optimistic and "fully invested" in America’s economic future.
GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE
"Don't forget the underlying theme of my belief: don't sell America short. Yes, we have serious problems; yes, they need to be addressed; but America is still the finest and best place to be in the world," Langone said.
"Shame on me If I don't acknowledge the greatness of this country for the wondrous things this country has done for me and my family, and more importantly, for the 500,000 kids that work at Home Depot today. That's America at its best," he continued. "Look at Walmart, look at the jobs we've all created. Look at the people that are living in homes they couldn't have afforded in earlier times. We are a great nation. We need to get back to some sobering reality."
