Articles
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Where Have All the Coins Gone?
“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
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AIER’s Leading and Roughly Coincident Indicators Indexes Remain at 0 in June.
While signs of rebound in some measures of economic activity have started to emerge, reinstatement of lockdown restrictions could smother the nascent recovery.
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Bill Gates: From Entrepreneur to Supervillain
“Supervillains coerce and harm. Successful entrepreneurs serve and enrich humanity. Gates should return to his entrepreneurial roots.” ~ Barry Brownstein
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The Reluctant Fed
“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…
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COVID-19 Made the Federal Reserve Sick
“The change in the Fed’s mandate is not something we can afford to ignore. Its new policies come with significant economic and political costs. If we do not come to grips with them, the Fed might not be able to help much when the next crisis hits.” ~ Alexander W. Salter
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Smart Society, Stupid People
“If economies come to be restored, eventually, to their former selves, it will not be because we or our leaders somehow beat a virus. The virus outsmarted everyone. What will fix what the political class has broken is the freedom once again to piece back together the institutions and processes that create the extended order…
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The Fed Is Not Independent, But It Should Be
“To be an effective central bank, the Fed must strive to remain independent of short-term political influence. A strict separation of monetary and fiscal policies helps bolster central bank independence.” ~ Thomas L. Hogan
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How the Federal Reserve Literally Makes Money
“The Fed is spending up to US$2.3 trillion to help save the U.S. economy from the coronavirus recession. But where does all that money come from?” ~ William J. Luther
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Keep the Fed Out of Municipal Finance
“Chairman Powell should follow the advice of his predecessors. With the program still in its infancy and economic recovery already underway, now is the time to end the MLF in order to preserve the Fed’s independence, maintain the separation between fiscal and monetary policy, and deter additional calls for municipal bailouts in the future.” ~…
