(FORTUNE Magazine) – Should the Federal Reserve be more accountable to elected officials for its decisions? Yes, say a small but growing chorus of politicians and economists. Of the many suggestions floated recently, the most radical -- and the worst -- comes from Representative Lee Hamilton, chairman of the Joint Economic Committee. Hamilton wants to add the Secretary of the Treasury to the Federal Open Market Committee, the Fed's major policymaking body, ostensibly to promote more cooperation between the Fed and elected officials. But any cooperation would likely be a one-way street toward higher inflation -- unless you believe that having its own person at the Fed would make the Administration more amenable to Fed pleas for a lower budget deficit. Though the Secretary would have only one vote, his voice would be hard to ignore. Past Administrations and Congresses have criticized the Fed mostly for keeping interest rates high. Indeed, during the 1940s the Fed was required to hold interest rates down by buying all securities offered to it by the Treasury. Only after rampant inflation during the Korean war forced the Truman Administration to impose price controls was the Fed's independence restored. Hamilton has one good idea: Publishing the minutes of Open Market Committee meetings immediately instead of six to eight weeks later. Knowing better what the Fed's intentions are, investors would rely less on questionable interpretations of tiny moves in the Fed Funds rate. What seems forgotten in the hankering for accountability is that the Humphrey-Hawkins law already requires the Fed to tell Congress periodically how its monetary policy fits with the President's budget and economic goals. This gives the politicians as much opportunity to sway the inflation fighter of last resort as the country can stand. Handing them added clout could well clobber the economy in the long run.