The Fed Unbound: The Trouble with Government by Central Bank
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-08-09 06:53:02
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Lev Menand
- ISBN：1735913707
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
It is a bedrock principle of the US Constitution that Congress， as representatives of the people， sets economic policy and directs government resources。 This all changed thirteen years ago， and even more dramatically during the pandemic。 The Federal Reserve operates independently from the rest of the government， and can create as much money as it sees fit and use it without the prior approval of Congress， the courts， or the President。 When the Fed creates new money to address economic problems， it helps certain groups， like powerful business interests， and becomes a massive driver of inequality。 In The Fed Unbound， Lev Menand tells the story of how the Fed became out of control during the 2008 financial crisis and the 2020 pandemic， and what can be done about it。
Reviews
Sam McCarthy
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The author occasionally gets a little lost in the weeds， but this is an extremely helpful book and invaluable resource for understanding the history of the Fed and its revolutionary approaches to the '08 crash and the coronavirus。 If I understand correctly， Menand argues that the Fed's massive program of money creation （by way of QE and other debt and asset purchases in the spring of 2020） brought the American economy back from the brink， but in so doing， exacerbated economic inequality by artif The author occasionally gets a little lost in the weeds， but this is an extremely helpful book and invaluable resource for understanding the history of the Fed and its revolutionary approaches to the '08 crash and the coronavirus。 If I understand correctly， Menand argues that the Fed's massive program of money creation （by way of QE and other debt and asset purchases in the spring of 2020） brought the American economy back from the brink， but in so doing， exacerbated economic inequality by artificially inflating the value of homes， stocks， bonds， and other assets。 Unfortunately， Menand doesn't discuss the potentially inflationary consequences of the Fed's huge liquidity program。 He does， however， make a forceful case against relying on the Fed to achieve policy objectives rather than legislating them。 While the Fed does have a myriad tools at its disposal for mitigating recessions， climate change， and other issues， we can't risk the creation of another Supreme Court-like institution: an all-powerful， partisan， and opaque organization that ultimately undercuts the power of Congress。 。。。more
Daniel Hawley
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quite an accessible read。 i have some quibbles but overall an interesting argument that changed how i think about the fed。 i recommend it for people looking to learn more about the fed’s legal construction， its ‘08 & ‘20 crisis activity， repo， and shadow banking。
Samrat
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