Pertinent Category: Sound Money Project

The Sound Money Project was founded in January 2009 to conduct research and promote awareness about monetary stability and financial privacy. The project is comprised of leading academics and practitioners in money, banking, and macroeconomics. It offers regular commentary and in-depth analysis on monetary policy, alternative monetary systems, financial markets regulation, cryptocurrencies, and the history of monetary and macroeconomic thought. For the latest on sound money issues, subscribe to our working paper series and follow along on Twitter or Facebook.

Advisory Board: Steve H. Hanke, Jerry L. Jordan, Lawrence H. White
Director: William J. Luther
Senior Fellows: Nicolás Cachanosky, Gerald P. Dwyer, Joshua R. Hendrickson, Thomas L. Hogan, Gerald P. O’Driscoll, Jr., Alexander W. Salter
Fellows: J.P. Koning

Central Banking, Crisis, Monetary Policy

Powell Must Choose: Fiscal Restraint or Runaway Inflation

James L. Caton

– August 5, 2020

“Jerome Powell and those steering fiscal policy choose from two paths: fiscal responsibility or monetary debasement. If he is unable to maintain stable expectations of low inflation, the latter path awaits.” ~ James L. Caton

Central Banking, Crisis, Monetary Policy

The Fiscal Fed

Nicolás Cachanosky

– August 4, 2020

“Allowing the Fed to become a catch-all institution undermines its independence and ability to conduct monetary policy. If every job is the Fed’s job, it won’t do any of them well.” ~ Nicolás Cachanosky

Currency, Economic Education, Policy

So-Called Stablecoins

J.P. Koning

– August 2, 2020

“Regular consumers are slowly becoming more interested in financial privacy. But they shouldn’t have to rely on systems that ignore the law. A more durable solution is to work towards changing those laws.” ~ J.P. Koning

Central Banking, Gold Standard, Monetary Policy

Long-Discredited Positions on the Monetary System

Thomas L. Hogan

– July 31, 2020

“Considering the evidence, it appears to be Mr. Rattner, rather than Ms. Shelton, who holds “long-discredited positions on the monetary system.” Historical bank failures and crises, particularly during the Great Depression, are generally attributable to interference by regulators and central bankers, not to the gold standard.” ~ Thomas L. Hogan

Central Banking, Crisis, Monetary Policy

Inflation, Credit Allocation, and the Fed

James L. Caton

– July 31, 2020

“At the behest of Congress, the Fed has opened new facilities far afield of its traditional mandate. There is still some risk that the Fed will lose control and inflation will get out of hand. But there is a much bigger risk that the Fed will misallocate credit, reducing long run economic growth in the process.” ~ James L. Caton

Central Banking, Crisis, Monetary Policy

The Federal Reserve Is Both Too Politicized and Too Powerful

Alexander William Salter

– July 30, 2020

“If we don’t want history to remember COVID-19 as the event that cemented political control over monetary policy, we need to act soon. The Fed’s emergency programs must be halted and eventually retired; its balance sheet must shrink to pre-crisis levels; and Congress must cease directing the Fed to engage in fiscal policy, even amidst extraordinary economic turmoil.” ~ Alexander W. Salter

Central Banking, Economic Education, Monetary Policy

The Fed Can’t Make Pi

Thomas L. Hogan

– July 22, 2020

“Changing the value of pi would be a disaster for physics, engineering, and architecture. Changing the definition of liquidity would be a disaster for the economy.” ~ Thomas L. Hogan

Central Banking, Currency, Gold Standard, Monetary Policy

That Civilized Relic: A Monetary System as Good as Gold

Alexander William Salter

– July 16, 2020

“The gold standard isn’t perfect. No system is. But it has many virtues. A strong case can be made that it’s the best of all feasible institutional alternatives. As my dissertation adviser, Lawrence White, puts it: The gold standard is still the gold standard among monetary systems.” ~

Economic Education, Free Markets, Policy, Property Rights

A Keynesian Path Would Be the Wrong Path for the U.S. Economy

Nicolás Cachanosky

– July 15, 2020

“Following a crisis, countries with higher levels of economic freedom–that is, with institutions closer to those proposed by Hayek than Keynes–suffered smaller economic contractions and faster recoveries. Keynesian ideas have dominated the political worldview for decades. But we would be better off following Hayek.” ~ Nicolás Cachanosky

Central Banking, Currency, Free Banking

Where Have All the Coins Gone?

William J. Luther

– July 11, 2020

“We should acknowledge the weaknesses of our current system and make improvements if possible. At a minimum, that means scrapping the penny. More fundamental reforms, like permitting competition in coinage, would be better still.” ~ William J. Luther

Central Banking, Currency, Monetary Policy

What Can Be Done to Remedy the Coin Shortage?

J.P. Koning

– July 8, 2020

“The US Mint could focus all of its resources on producing dimes and quarters, not silly pennies. This would put an end to the US’s coin shortage, almost immediately.” ~ J.P. Koning

Central Banking, Crisis, Fiscal Policy, Monetary Policy

The Reluctant Fed

Thomas L. Hogan

– June 26, 2020

“Fed officials should follow the example set by Ben Bernanke. They should be ‘extremely reluctant’ to engage in facilities like the MSLP, SMCCF, and PMCCF. Such programs are ‘outside the range of [the Fed’s] responsibilities.’ They are fiscal policies that ‘are best resolved by Congress’ since they require ‘balancing political and social priorities.'” ~ Thomas L. Hogan