The Fed remains a mystifying, secretive institution that defies classification. It combines elements of a public, governmental entity with elements of the private banking system. It’s run by a government-appointed team and owned by banks (through non-transferable stock). Confused? We can’t blame you. This week’s guest, Christopher Leonard, is the author of The Lords of Easy Money: How the Federal Reserve Broke the American Economy. He takes us through the ins and outs of the Fed’s history and proceedings, giving us a big picture of how, at this institution’s behest, the rich keep getting richer.
Lords of Easy Money’s story leads us to today’s inequality and financial instability. In other words, it’s hard to fully understand our current moment of fiscal crisis without having a grasp on how the Federal Reserve was the key architect of past decades of financial policy, and whose interest that policy was made in. We’re grateful to Christopher for joining us. Remember that you can listen to this episode on major streaming platforms like Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Pandora — and thank you for joining us, too.
Episode 55 Audio: Christopher Leonard