The Federal Reserve is failing to meet its basic responsibilities.

The central bank is charged by Congress to do two things. It is supposed to keep inflation at a moderate rate while also maximizing employment. Almost five years have passed since the end of the Great Recession, and the Fed has made little progress on either count.

The share of American adults with jobs fell sharply during the recession, and has since recovered only a small part of that lost ground. The unemployment rate has fallen, but primarily because the jobless stopped looking for work.

Inflation, meanwhile, remains well below the Fed’s target of 2 percent.