The War Against Cash, Part Two
Part 2: Politicians hate cash. That may
The Federal Reserve announced Wednesday it approved
Minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee
The Federal Reserve has given us the
The Federal Reserve has existed for almost
UPDATE: The markets are selling off as traders fret that a rosier Fed economic outlook may push the central bank to trim back its bond buying sooner than expected. The Dow is down 137 points, or 0.9%, while the broader S&P 500 is off 0.87%. Meanwhile, traders are selling Treasury bonds, sending the yield on the 10-year up 0.13 percentage point to 2.317%.
Advocates of central bank reform must examine why central banks emerged and what forces sustain them. They did not arise in an institutional vacuum, and will not be reformed in an institutional vacuum. The historical origins of central banks explain how they came into existence. The forces sustaining and feeding their growth may differ from those explaining their origin.
Plans to abolish central banks constitute an extreme reform. It is doubtful that such plans can succeed without broader institutional change, occurring either first or simultaneously. That is likely true regardless of the strength of evidence on central bank performance. I examine these issues in what follows.
