Yes, This Time We’ll Have Inflation, and Here’s Why
“The political forces supportive of anti-growth policies such as trade restrictions, higher minimum wages, perverse energy regulations, and cronyism appear to be on the rise, and they will dampen future growth. But inflation is going to be the big story of the post-pandemic economy. Get ready for an inflationary ride.” ~ James D. Gwartney
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Do These Money Supply Charts Portend Hyperinflation?
“Financial markets indicators suggest that high inflation is not likely. Even with a very large balance sheet, the Fed has proven that it can control inflation by paying high rates of interest on bank reserves. Whether Fed officials choose to do so is the open question.” ~ Thomas L. Hogan
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How Will We Pay for a $1.9 Trillion Spending Bill?
“Politicians are quick to ignore the costs of government spending in proposing legislation and obscure those costs by issuing debt rather than raising revenues. It is politically popular to issue debt and send checks to everyone. The benefits of the policy are clear: people get checks. The costs, which ripple out through financial markets as interest rates are bid up, are difficult to tie to the policy.” ~ Nicolás Cachanosky
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Yellen was Right, the Federal Debt “Should Keep People Awake at Night”
“If the burden of interest payments increases, will Congress make the difficult decisions required to reduce federal spending? What contingency plan do Yellen and Powell have in their back pocket if the dollar suffers a speculative attack owing to an unsound fiscal position? Yellen was right: ‘It’s the type of thing that should keep people awake at night.'” ~ James L. Caton
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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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Who Bears the Burden of Dollars’ Falling Purchasing Power?
“Inflation is not a one-trick pony, with an easily predictable outcome. Rather, it does several things at the same time. Looking at claims like the eradication of a dollar’s purchasing power is misleading: it is not the case that inflation has ripped off savers by eradicating 97% of their savings’ worth.” ~ Joakim Book
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Why Aren’t Anti-Money-Laundering Regulations Adjusted for Inflation?
Banks and other financial institutions are required by law to implement measures for catching money launderers. Over the decades, these obligations have been getting more onerous due to new rules and the tightening of existing rules. They have also bec …
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Winner, Winner Chicken Dinner
The latest consumer price index report marks the end of a nearly seven-year bet with my dissertation advisor — a bet that I have officially won.
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LIBOR Is Out, SOFR Is in: What It Means
That the LIBOR fixings were manipulated was an open secret among financial market participants stretching back to the late 1980s
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GAO Endorses Small Change
In a recent report, the Government Accountability Office recommends altering the metal content of the nickel and casts doubt on the benefits of suspending production of the penny.
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MMT Is a Recipe for Revolution
MMT in the colonial period often led to periods of ruinous inflation and, less well-understood, revolution-inducing deflation.
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What Should Modern Monetary Theory Learn From Argentina?
Can governments run large fiscal deficits financed with new money without generating significant inflation? The experience of Argentina calls this view into doubt.
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