Notwithstanding the lopsided opinions the editors of Time Magazine foist upon readers, the real Person of the Year is actually Man of the Year: the chair of the Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell.

One of the criteria Time Magazine uses for its choice is “who most shaped the headlines over the previous 12 months, for better or for worse.”  (Emphasis added.)  That seems like a narrow perspective from which to filter candidates.  Still, per Google Trends, “Taylor Swift” may have been a more popular online search term than “Jerome Powell.”

One wonders who was conducting those Google searches.  Perhaps it was adoring girls searching for music or concert tickets.  By contrast, Powell is eminently uninteresting to search.  Nevertheless, in terms of who actually had the greatest influence on wealthy and struggling families looking to buy cars and houses, or more basic essentials like groceries, he was much more impactful.

Sure, Swift attracts the estrogen-fueled, screechy teenage girls — and indulgent parents — to her family-friendly concerts, which did well this year.  Indeed, her Eras concert tour is the highest grossing of all time, perhaps reflecting more performances in more venues to a growing population.   But credit where it’s due: She even had a movie of her concerts made, furthering the influence of girl power beyond toxic Barbie.

Swift’s singing talent is noteworthy, but her pure musical abilities fade when compared to accomplished musicians like The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, The Eagles, Grateful Dead, Nirvana, Pearl Jam...and so many others.  On stage, they could actually rock, and improvise, rather than just front a glitzy, polished production with singers shaking their groove things in front of undiscerning fans.

Even if the economic reverberations of Swift’s tour attendances surpass those of more accomplished musicians from decades ago, her overall impact on the economy, which is voters’ most pressing issue, is negligible.  It pales in comparison to the impact Powell exerted.

Indeed, during a press conference after the central bank raised interest rates for the umpteenth time, he entertained a question about Swift’s Eras concert tour.  His response was perfunctory, highlighting the economy’s overall strength. 

Admittedly, the Fed did mention the Eras Tour boosting hotel revenues in Philadelphia in one of its monthly economic reviews.  That only reinforces the supremacy of Jerome Powell’s clout on affairs that affect the well-being of all Americans, and lots of foreigners who invest here.  After all, Philadelphia is home to one of the twelve Federal Reserve Banks.

If any of the aforementioned rock groups were still in their heyday, selling out venues in 2023, Jerome Powell would still deserve to be named Man of the Year — for better or worse, starting from the worse, as he stubbornly insisted that inflation is transitory, finally moving to the (potentially) better, now that he’s assumed a more dovish stance after imposing multiple rate hikes to curb inflation.

Quite simply, Powell’s influence far exceeds Swift’s in all facets of human endeavor, except pop culture.  

These endeavors impact all Americans in all walks of life: entrepreneurship and capital allocation; banking, with higher rates contributing to some institutions going belly-up; politics, including voodoo Bidenomics; labor unions leveraging inflation stats to strike for higher wages; housing market disruptions as mortgage rates soared; and stock and bond market gyrations, affecting many millions of retirement accounts.

No wonder business leaders and politicians hang on Powell’s every word, trying to read the tea leaves of cryptic Fedspeak.  Unless they were banking on continued higher rates, many market participants are probably relieved that Powell’s Fed has assumed a policy easing stance, albeit as the economy slows.

In addition to freezing rate hikes on December 13, Powell also intimated that the Fed may cut rates three times in 2024.  Stocks initially went parabolic as bond yields dropped commensurately.  In fact, we are experiencing not a Santa Claus rally in the markets, but a Jerome Powell–fueled giddiness.  Too bad, from Time Magazine’s viewpoint, that he’s a white male with gray hair — i.e., someone who’s anathema to the magazine’s female empowerment imperative.  Meanwhile, Swift sells out concerts to screaming teeny-boppers.

Swift does fit the identity politics paradigm of Time’s editors.  These are the same bunch who in 2020 chose cackling Kamala Harris as co–Person of the Year with an already demented Joe Biden.  That was definitely “for the worse.”

In 2019, Time’s biases really warped its judgment as its editors chose Greta Thunberg as Person of the Year.  She was an angry little schoolgirl who accused world leaders of stealing her dreams.  That deluded sentiment is the pathetic embodiment of leftist victimhood by letting a bunch of old fuddy-duddies at the U.N. usurp her free will.  The Time Magazine editors must have been focusing on those who shaped the headlines for “the worse.”

If the criteria for Person of the Year capture the individual who had the greatest impact on the daily lives of hardworking Americans from all walks of life, it would reveal Jerome Powell, Man of the Year — not a pop culture icon who may boost “girl power,” even as she relinquishes most of the instrument-playing on her records to those more skilled.

Image via PickPik.