Fed's Fisher: U.S. issue is joblessness, not inflation

Richard W. Fisher, President and Chief Executive Officer for the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, speaks on International Economics at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, March 3, 2010.

TORONTO (Reuters) - High unemployment, not inflation, is the biggest problem facing the U.S. economy today, a top Federal Reserve official known for his hawkish views on inflation said on Monday.

"Inflation is not the problem in the United States right now," Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher said in Toronto. "The trending analysis here at the Dallas Federal Reserve indicates that inflation will trend toward 2 percent. I buy that analysis."

Unemployment is the bigger problem and can lead to social disorder like that sweeping Greece, Fisher said.

Both the Tea Party and the Occupy Wall Street movements are symptoms of dissatisfaction with the way politicians are handling the nation's fiscal policies, Fisher said, repeating his view that the Fed has already filled the "gas tank" of the economy but politicians need to make sure that gas gets used.

Fisher was one of three policymakers who dissented in August and September against decisions to ease monetary policy further.

(Reporting by Andrea Hopkins; Writing by Ann Saphir; Editing by Padraic Cassidy)