Salter earned his M.A. and Ph.D. in Economics at George Mason University and his B.A. in Economics at Occidental College. He was an AIER Summer Fellowship Program participant in 2011.
“The Fed should ignore the political noise and follow the data. Central bankers failed to curb inflation, but that doesn’t mean they should deliberately make the opposite mistake now.” ~Alexander W. Salter
“Economists have a duty to point out just how destructive these proposals are.” ~Alexander W. Salter
“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
“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
“Interest rates tell us monetary policy is very tight. The money supply tells us monetary policy is somewhat tight. Will the Fed interpret recent data as a signal it’s time to pivot?” ~Alexander W. Salter
“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
“M2, the most commonly cited measure of the money supply, is up 0.53 percent from a year ago. Since real income and population are growing faster than this, current M2 growth also suggests money is tight. But this is speculative.” ~Alexander W. Salter
“Oil is produced and sold in a global market. Even true cartels like OPEC don’t have total control over prices. It comes down to supply and demand.” ~Alexander W. Salter
“In the first quarter of 2024, the US economy expanded at a rate of 1.6 percent per year. That’s hardly an impressive growth rate, but it’s significantly faster than money supply growth. Money looks somewhat tight.” ~Alexander W. Salter
“The whole point of expectations-responsive monetary policy is to remove the discretionary and technocratic elements from central banking. Disappointingly but unsurprisingly, the Fed is doing the opposite: doubling down on discretion and technocracy.” ~Alexander W. Salter