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: James L. Caton, J.P. Koning
Citibank’s $900 Million Mistake and the Finality of Payments
“Cases like Citbank’s $900 million mispayment and $846,000 bank drafts stuck in financial limbo make for interesting stories. But keep in mind that the participants in these transactions are the accidental victims of a payments system that provides hard finality. What is unseen is the huge amount of trade that the certainty of hard finality facilitates.” ~ J.P. Koning
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Meet the New Fed, Same as the Old Fed: Jerome Powell’s Inflation Revelation Falls Flat
“If it’s serious about a 2% inflation target, the Fed will have to do better than a pep rally. We were promised meaningful change; what we got was the same old song and dance.” ~ Phillip W. Magness & Alexander W. Salter
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Where Does Money Come From?
“Money makes possible an incredible amount of interpersonal coordination in the market. Rules of private property and contract, of various kinds, predate money. But widespread market integration and economic growth only result when there is a critical mass of people in a single commercial network linked by money.” ~ Alexander W. Salter
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Average Inflation Targeting and Expectations
“If credible and clearly articulated, an average inflation targeting regime would provide a better anchor for inflation expectations than a period-by-period inflation targeting regime. Alas, the Fed’s new policy strategy has not been clearly articulated, leaving short-run inflation expectations unanchored.” ~ William J. Luther
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The Myth of the Crowding-Out Myth
“Recognizing that private investment usually works better than public investment does not mean that public investment is never desirable. But it does put the burden of proof on those who champion public investment projects. Rather than offering faux refutations of the crowding-out argument and citing anecdotal evidence, as Skidelsky does, those in favor of a public investment project should make the case for why it is desirable.” ~ William J. Luther & Nicolás Cachanosky
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Raising Inflation Expectations by Targeting the Average Rate of Inflation
“The Federal Reserve has increased its commitment to offset a fall in the total level of expenditures in response to an economic downturn. Absent a systematic disruption in the structure of international monetary arrangements or another factor that cannot be offset by monetary policy, the FOMC will ensure that downturns are met with accommodation from monetary policy.” ~ James L. Caton
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AMPLs and YAMs aren’t Monies; They are Gambling Technologies
“It’s hard to see why AMPL or YAM could ever replace a dollar. While the price of these tokens is relatively benign, their quantity fluctuates wildly. So the total purchasing power of AMPLs (or YAMs) held in one’s wallet is quite volatile despite the purchasing power of a given AMPL (or YAM) being stable. Put plainly, these aren’t dollar substitutes.” ~ J.P. Koning
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The Fed Needs a Shed
“The crisis period is now behind us. The need for these facilities, if ever there was one, is now past. It’s time to put away the emergency lending tools.” ~ Thomas L. Hogan
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Can the Fed Reduce Inequality?
“If the Fed aims to reduce inequality, it should use policies that are known to be effective. There is little scope for affecting inequality with monetary policy. Reducing banks’ regulatory burden reduces inequality by improving the lives of Americans with the lowest incomes.” ~ Thomas L. Hogan
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Judy Shelton is Right About the Gold Standard
“When it comes to the gold standard, the experts have spent too much time reading their textbooks and not enough time studying actual history. Empirical questions require empirical answers, and no amount of armchair theorizing can settle how gold stacks up to fiat money. On this, Dr. Shelton is right and the commentariat wrong.” ~ Alexander W. Salter
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Powell Must Choose: Fiscal Restraint or Runaway Inflation
“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
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The Fiscal Fed
“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
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