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, Sound Money

Fed Lending Programs Might Be Legal, but They’re Still Bad Policies

Alexander William Salter

– May 31, 2020

“Congress should not use the Fed to accomplish fiscal goals through monetary means. There is no good reason to give the Fed a free pass just because their irresponsible decisions come with statutory cover.” ~ Alexander W. Salter

Economic Education, Sound Money Project

The Thin Green Line

Scott A. Burns

– May 28, 2020

“The Fed has again taken unprecedented action to respond to a crisis. Unfortunately, it has gone further towards erasing the separating monetary and fiscal policy, to the detriment of both.” ~ Scott Burns

Sound Money, Sound Money Project

R.I.P. Richard H. Timberlake

Scott A. Burns

– May 26, 2020

“Timberlake provided a blueprint for future sound money scholars to conduct thorough and well-respected research on monetary theory and history.” ~ Scott Burns

Central Banking, Crisis

Powell Admits that the Fed’s Actions Vastly Exceed Its Mandate

Alexander William Salter

– May 22, 2020

“Powell admits what’s happening now is outside the Fed’s purview. And, yet, the Fed is doing more than ever.” ~ Alexander Salter

Central Banking, Economic Trends

The Fed is Failing, Again

Alexander William Salter

– May 20, 2020

The Fed has refused to do the sensible thing. Rather than focusing on monetary stability, it has embarked on a host of misguided experiments that threaten the long-run integrity of markets.

Economic Trends

Negative Interest Rates: A Free Market Phenomenon

J.P. Koning

– May 19, 2020

Negative interest rates are not unnatural. They are a regular phenomenon in unregulated free markets.

Economic History, Economic Trends

Stay-at-Home Orders and the Willingness to Stay Home

William J. Luther

– May 17, 2020

It has become common, in times of crisis, to ask: what will the government do to fix this? And there is certainly a lot that state and federal governments can do. The lesson I hope we will learn from this pandemic, however, is that there is much that can be accomplished locally as well.

Education

Even In a Crisis, Student Loan Forgiveness Is Bad Policy

William J. Luther

– May 15, 2020

We should help those who are struggling right now. And we should do so quickly. Student loan debt forgiveness does not do that very much or very well.

Central Banking

How the Fed’s COVID-19 Response Undermines Federalism

Alexander William Salter

– May 13, 2020

We should do everything we can to make sure City Hall and the state capital are more responsive to the voices of ordinary citizens in their jurisdictions than the whims of central bankers.

Central Banking, Crisis

Inflation and Coronavirus Monetary Policies

Gerald P. Dwyer

– May 4, 2020

Not knowing the relationship between monetary policy and inflation is a risky way to conduct monetary policy. Maybe everything will work out fine; maybe not.

Crisis, Regulation

Beware a Second-Wave Attack on Liberty

James L. Caton

– May 1, 2020

To move on, the spread must occur. If we employ smart policy, we will allow the virus to spread among the young and shelter our old. We must encourage those with preexisting conditions – hypertension, heart disease, and so forth – to isolate in order to avoid contracting the virus.

Crisis

To Avoid Permanent Leviathan, People Must Reclaim their Rights

Nicolás Cachanosky

– April 30, 2020

There is a risk that whatever justified measures governments are taking because of the pandemic outbreak will remain as unjustified powers once the pandemic crisis is over.