Topic: Central Banking

The Fed’s Balance Sheet Feeds Bailout Culture

– September 6, 2024

“It appears that Fed officials came to believe that they had the authority and power to do whatever they deem necessary to ‘fix’ the economy.” ~Paul Mueller

Central Banking, Inflation, International

Did the Bank of England Set Britain on the Road to Ruin?

– August 30, 2024

“Officials sent out critical letters to Truss and her Chancellor, containing an analysis that has since proved incorrect, and which were immediately leaked to the press. The damage was done – the Bank and the blob had their fall guy.” ~Iain Murray

Books, Capitalism, Central Banking

Interventions, Easy Money Run Amok

– August 27, 2024

“An obvious set of perverse incentives simply stimulate more risk-taking by corporate management and investment firms in the future, resulting in even bigger future bailouts down the road. At a certain point this strategy of holding the wolf by the ears will become untenable.” ~Richard Morrison

Books, Central Banking, Inflation, Sound Money

The Permanent Temptation of All Governments

– August 20, 2024

“The math of 2 percent compound shrinkage demonstrates that the Fed wants to depreciate the dollar’s purchasing power by 80 percent in each average lifetime. Somehow the Fed never mentions this.” ~Alex Pollock

Central Banking, Monetary Policy, Sound Money

The Federal Reserve and Pandora’s Box

– August 16, 2024

“In the name of preventing a second Great Depression, then-Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke opened a Pandora’s Box of monetary ills in 2008. And like the Greek myth, there may be no way of putting these ills back in the box.” ~Paul Mueller

Central Banking, Inflation, Sound Money Project

Moderate Inflation Returns in July

– August 14, 2024

“To judge whether monetary policy is loose, it is not enough to show that monetary aggregates are growing at historically low rates. What matters is whether the money supply is growing faster than money demand.” ~Alexander W. Salter

Central Banking, Cryptocurrency, Monetary Policy, Sound Money Project

Should Taxpayers Fund a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve?

– August 12, 2024

“Given that the reserve of gold can be viewed only as the federal government holding it for investment purposes, there is no particular reason to focus only on gold and not include other assets, including cryptoassets such as bitcoin.” ~Gerald P. Dwyer

Central Banking, Fiscal Policy, Monetary Policy

There’s Nothing Conservative about Deficits and Debt

– August 7, 2024

“Interest payments now suck up more of the federal budget, leaving less to spend on important political priorities. Since Republicans and Democrats disagree about what those priorities are, the resulting fiscal strain amplifies partisan divisions.” ~Alexander W. Salter

Central Banking, Inflation, Taxation

$35 Trillion — and Counting

– July 31, 2024

“Interest payments on the debt alone surpass the budgets of many major federal agencies combined. At this point, federal debt service costs amount to approximately $900 billion, which is 17 percent of total federal spending.” ~Peter C. Earle

Central Banking, Inflation, Monetary Policy

There’s No Good Reason to Raise the Inflation Target

– June 24, 2024

“Why not give the central bank a wider berth, if it helps to stabilize the economy? Because it doesn’t actually help. Interest rates are a distraction.” ~Alexander W. Salter

Central Banking, Inflation, Monetary Policy, Sound Money Project

Politicizing Monetary Policy Won’t Fix the Fed’s Failings

– June 10, 2024

“Even if one thinks Trump is well-suited to make interest rate decisions (and there is little reason to think he is), it does not follow that Trump’s proposed solution would improve monetary policy.” ~Nicolás Cachanosky

Central Banking, Inflation, Monetary Policy, Sound Money Project

Inflation Continued to Decline in April

– June 1, 2024

“While inflation is declining once more, members of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) have suggested rates would need to remain high for longer than they had previously projected.” ~William J. Luther