Coordination with monetary policy. Fiscal policy is not the only instrument available to government for influencing the level of employment and prices. Monetary Policy may be equally important. Economists for many years have debated the relative effectiveness of monetary versus fiscal action and the reliance to be placed on each. One advantage of monetary action is that it can be taken more promptly and more easily by Federal Reserve officials than can action that requires congressional decision. However, monetary controls operate indirectly on the income stream; government spending and taxation can increase or decrease the income stream directly.