Entries by Alexander William Salter

Congress Overspends, but the Fed Inflates

Estimated Reading Time: 3 minutes

Writing in The American Conservative, Rep. Josh Brecheen (R-OK) recently blamed inflation on irresponsible fiscal policy. He cites a barrage of statistics on the magnitude of the national debt, the looming insolvency of Social Security and Medicare, and the burdens high prices create for American households. Rep. Brecheen is partly right: perpetual deficits are bad for the economy, […]

Ramaswamy on CBDC [Central Bank Digital Currencies]

Estimated Reading Time: 2 minutes

Vivek Ramaswamy, a Republican candidate for President, has a strong position on central bank digital currencies (CBDC): “Hell no.” His proposals for reforming the Fed have major problems, but his views on financial freedom and privacy are unimpeachable. A CBDC would give the government unprecedented access to and control over private transactions. Allowing the Fed […]

American Economic Renewal: Demand-Side Foundations of Supply-Side Prosperity

Estimated Reading Time: 3 minutes

The American economy is far weaker than it should be. Unemployment is low, but this overstates our economic strength given troubling long-term trends in labor force participation. Inflation is still more than twice as high as the Federal Reserve’s target. Real output growth is anemic. We have lots of workers, plenty of capital, and abundant […]

American Economic Renewal: Demand-Side Foundations of Supply-Side Prosperity

Estimated Reading Time: 3 minutes

The American economy is far weaker than it should be. Unemployment is low, but this overstates our economic strength given troubling long-term trends in labor force participation. Inflation is still more than twice as high as the Federal Reserve’s target. Real output growth is anemic. We have lots of workers, plenty of capital, and abundant […]

Weekend Read: For the Least of These: Against Inflation Economics

Estimated Reading Time: 7 minutes

Just twenty years ago, economists and bureaucrats triumphantly proclaimed the apotheosis of macroeconomic stabilization policy. The “Great Moderation” saw a long spell of full employment, income growth, and low and steady inflation. How we long for those days now! While labor markets appear healthy, this could quickly change. Meanwhile, inflation has surged: Consumer prices are up more […]

How to Think about Inflation

Estimated Reading Time: 3 minutes

Everything old is new again: Inflation plagues the US economy. The Consumer Price Index is up 7.9 percent from a year ago. The Personal Consumptions Expenditures index is up 6.1 percent from a year ago. We haven’t seen price pressures like these in 40 years. If we want to understand inflation, we need a framework […]

Monetary Control: Central Banks Today

Estimated Reading Time: 6 minutes

Most wealthy countries today have central banks. And most of these central banks operate discretionarily. What this means is that monetary policymakers have significant latitude to determine the course of monetary policy. Although monetary policy is crafted using sophisticated economic tools, ultimately any policy decision in a discretionary regime is a judgment call. Defining monetary […]

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