In this paper, we describe a set of trade-offs that policymakers face with respect to fluctua? tions at different frequencies. A complete treat? ment is given in Brock, Durlauf, and Rondina (2008). The presence of frequency-specific effects of policy choices has generally not been a focus of macroeconomic policy analysis, important exceptions include Alexei Onatski and Noah M. Williams (2003). Our analysis dif? fers from previous studies in that our objective is to understand to what extent a policymaker is forced, when choosing a feedback rule to sta? bilize the economy, to exacerbate volatility at some frequencies in order to reduce them at oth? ers, or whether it is possible to reduce volatil? ity at all frequencies. These trade-offs, known as design limits in the control theory literature, are important in understanding what stabiliza? tion policies do, and also possess implications for policy design in the presence of policymaker ignorance.