Do the Fed’s efforts to stabilize the economy worsen inequality?

The Federal Reserve, the U.S. central bank, was built for a monetary system composed primarily of investor-owned, government-chartered banks. But over the years, the erosion of banking law and the rise of alternative forms of money created outside of the banking system have pushed the Fed to take on more and more responsibilities to keep the economy out of recession, as it did during the 2008 crisis, and again during the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic, when it created $3 trillion to stop another financial panic.

Legal scholar and former Treasury official Lev Menand explains how the Fed did this, and argues that it is time to cure the disease that has plagued the American economy for decades, and not just rely on the Fed to treat its symptoms. The Fed Unbound is an urgent appeal to Congress to reform the U.S. economic and financial infrastructure.

"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. 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"--

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