US News - August 20, 2014, by Katherine Peralta - There's a growing concern among some critics the Federal Reserve doesn't always hear the perspectives of everyday Americans as it makes policy decisions. Relying instead on a roundup of data to assess the health of the economy, the central bank said it'll eventually scale back on the easy money policies implemented on the heels of the Great Recession that were meant to stimulate economic growth.

The Federal Open Market Committee's most recent minutes show increasing division among policymakers about the extent of the job market recovery. On one hand, there have been strong monthly job gains this year and the jobless rate recently fell to a six-year low. But some members believe there remains “significant underutilization of labor resources,” a term the committee also used in its June minutes.

Most participants see the economy as having progressed on the FOMC’s two goals, full employment and price stability. If progress continues faster than expected, “it might become appropriate to begin removing monetary policy accommodation sooner than they currently anticipated." This means it'd raise the short-term interest rates, which it’s held close to zero since 2008 to encourage spending. As anticipated, the committee gave no exact date on when it plans to raise rates; rather, a timeline depends on further job market improvement.

Fed Chair Janet Yellen will deliver the keynote address at an annual economic symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, this week at a gathering of central bankers and academics that will focus on labor markets. All attendees, which include central bankers, academics and the media, pay their own entrance fee of $1,000 as well as their own travel costs to attend.

Including the rather exclusive Jackson Hole summit, many worry there isn’t enough access for “everyday” Americans to share their stories to policymakers as they make monetary policy decisions.

“Low-wage and middle-income working folks don’t necessarily understand what the Fed does, and even people who are unemployed and underemployed have other pressing concerns,” says Peter Brownell, research director at the Center on Policy Initiatives. “Efforts need to be made to actually affirmatively reach out to people and get their perspective, whereas Wall Street and business leaders are not shy about putting their views forward.”

Brownell’s organization is one of about 60 – including the Economic Policy Institute and the National Employment Law Project – that cosigned a letter to Fed policymakers saying that the job market remains weak enough – particularly in light of the flat wages for hourly workers – to necessitate its easy-money policies.

“There is a real danger that in early 2015, the Fed will cut the legs out from the recovery before the economy reaches full acceleration, costing our communities millions of jobs and workers tens of billions in wages,” the letter read.

The cosigners generally support raising a federal minimum wage, creating more well-paying jobs and implementing workplace policy reform like paid sick day laws. Ady Barkan, staff attorney at the Center for Popular Democracy, says the letter is part of a larger effort, which will also include community outreach to each of the 12 Federal Reserve Bank presidents.

“The vast majority of people who are impacted by Fed policy never get a voice in what that policy will be, and Federal Reserve officials communicate regularly with corporate executives and bankers, but they rarely communicate with working families, so we’re going to try to change that,” Barkan says.

Attending the conference along with organization leaders like Barkan are a handful of “ordinary people,” such as hourly wage workers, who plan to share their stories with policymakers, The Washington Post reported earlier this week.

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