Miller's manner of running the Fed did not endear him to his peers or outside observers. Miller was not perceived as having great prestige; not coming from an economics or Wall Street background, he was seen as an "outsider." A 2003 article in "The Economist" said that "America's central bankers have all made their weight felt across the political sphere, with the possible exception of William Miller, whose brief tenure in 1978-79 was notable for his attempts to ban smoking at the board.". FOMC members who had historically smoked during meetings disregarded Miller's ban. To some extent Miller's outsider status was intentional. Miller tried to "run the Fed as if he were still in charge of a corporation," and he was "much less inclined others chairs to act on his own initiative." It is rare for the influential chair's opinion to not carry the vote at Board of Governors and FOMC meetings, but Miller was outvoted by the Board of Governors at a meeting in 1979 where he opposed an increase in the discount rate, the rate at which the Federal Reserve lends to banks.