Great economic read.

This is a must read to discover how the Federal Reserve has been employed by the financial elites (1%) to prop up their capital assets (stocks, corporate bonds, CLO) by the $ trillions of dollars. The net wealth of the middle 20% have stagnated while the top 20% has ballooned (not to mention the top 1%). For one this book explains how behind the scenes stocks and bonds quickly recovered during the CoVid pandemic, due to the Feds unpublished backstop that measured in the $trillions. This is a operation (can’t be called a policy since it arises out the darkness of the Federal Bank) that the public was completely ignorant of, while their jobs and businesses disappeared under CoVid restrictions. In addition it’s written in a lively manner, not stuffy. It explains what distortions ZIRP and QE had on asset prices (assets held by the financial elites) in a most clear way, better than I’ve read anywhere else.

The 2008 crisis happened as a result of President Clinton's amendments in the 90's to President Carter 1977 Community Reinvestment Act where banks were required to make a specific number of low-income housing loans which would be backed by Freddie MAC and Fannie MAE. The fallout of the 2008 crisis such as Quantitative Easing, Zero Interest Rate Policy, Asset Bubbles, and Bailouts, and the chain reactions from the unintended consequences of short-term thinking is brilliantly described in this book. The research and the behind-the-scenes information on the Federal Reserve's day-to-day operation are eye-opening. Every elected congressional office person should be required to read this book before assuming duties in Washington. Never again will I believe the Federal Reserve is the right way to handle the money supply. All Bernanke did was experiment and shoot from the hip... and Powell panics and thinks he can make short-term fixes in an economy that needs to be steered like an aircraft carrier when he is not going where no one has gone before....just like Bernanke. This country needs better.

"When central planners decide, the intentionally help one group at the expense of another." F A Hayek Well, the Federal Reserve, that unelected body that reports to no one, decided to harm the prudent, as they fluffed that assets of those who perpetrated the 2008 debacle. For 7 decades, Fed Funds equaled or exceeded inflation. But not this time. The Fed turned from honoring their stable prices mandate to promoting inflation. Jack up the money supply as never ever seen before, and peg interest rates at zero. What sticks out in this book is the difference in VALUES between a midwestern Fed President, Hoenig, who worked his way up acquiring a certain set of values, and the silver spoon (Powell), country club, prep schooled and fast tracked Ivy League, venture capital, then on to "government service" set of values......WHAT A CONTRAST! It is the later who decided to harm the workers/earners/ and savers of this nation to fluff the assets of those he has rubbed elbows with his entire life. Having never touched a shovel or been to a lumber yard, Powell turned his back on the workers and savers, the people who turn the lights on and fill the shelves in this country. The greatest shift of wealth, the greatest TAKING of wealth in history.....by holding interest rates down and inflating the stock market, real estate, and ruining the purchasing power of the dollar. Inflation is a Race to the Bottom....and there is only one entity, one set of people to blame...the Federal Reserve.

This is a fine book. I'd order nine copies to be sent to each member of the Bank of Japan's Policy Board if I thought it would do any good, but I won't, because it wouldn't. The Bank's Governor, Kazuo Ueda was 17 years old when the movie, "Night of the Living Dead, " was released. He was, undoubtedly, so taken by it, that the Zombie settings of the Bank's meetings emulate it. After the obligatory bowing, the members stare at one another for two days, after which they do nothing,except stagger back to their desks, until it's time for the next meeting. The interest rate in Japan remains at minus 0.10%, which, to put it bluntly, is somewhat different than everyplace else. Then again, years ago, the Japanese government said that they could not import American beef, because Japanese intestines were different. Arithmetic in Japan is also different. 1+1 do not equal 2. Mr. Leonard could not write a book about, "Nichigin,"because the pages would be blank.

This is a fascinating, eye-opening view inside the Federal Reserve. The writing is engaging and makes for a readable tale which every American should read. I learned much about the unintended impact of wealth redistribution due to Fed policy which is THE untold story of the past decade. The reason for four stars is the occasional howler which reveals the author’s bias and life inside a bubble. Trump’s appeal was many things, primarily on illegal immigration and trade with China, but it was not as Leonard has it: “One of Trump’s primary appeals was that he would work diligently to dismantle whatever was left of America’s fiscal policy institutions.” Right. He also claims “the federal government failed entirely to implement any kind of unified response to the [covid] virus” - that is a feature (not a bug) of our system of federalism. States have powers too and given the unintended malicious affects of lockdowns we can be grateful that there was nothing imposed from on high. In the following paragraph he then undermines this statement by highlighting how huge and unprecedented the CARES Act was (a federal program). But these are nitpicks. In this era an author writing a book this long on any subject should be commended for keeping his prejudices under leash as well as he did. You can say this book is the work of a true journalist, which is a very rare thing these days.

nice read

A great book to add to my collection