The Lords of Easy Money: How the Federal Reserve Impacts the US Economy with Christopher Leonard

Apr 10

The Rhys Show · The Lords of Easy Money: How the Federal Reserve Impacts the US Economy with Christopher Leonard

In this episode, investigative reporter and author Christopher Leonard sheds light on the US Federal Reserve's impact on the economy, discussing how their policies have accelerated income inequality and jeopardized economic stability.

As the author of "The Lords of Easy Money," Leonard explains how the Fed's quantitative easing policy, which involved massive amounts of borrowing since the Great Recession of 2008 and during the pandemic, has contributed to inflation and widened the wealth gap between the rich and poor.

Leonard also contextualizes the current moment in history, discussing the Fed's history since its inception in the 1970s and how it operated during the great inflation. He dives into how the Fed prints money, pushing it into the system and cooling it off by pulling money out, and connects this to central banks.

The episode delves deep into how the easy money environment has impacted the economy and people, discussing how it has enabled an uptick in debt and increased the risk system. Furthermore, the conversation explores the connection between the easy money environment and the state of capitalism, reserve currencies, and the rise of China.

As the American easy money party comes to an end, the question remains: how is the Fed going to clean up the mess? And as individuals, what can we do?

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Topics:

Welcome to The Rhys Show with Christopher Leonard: (00:00:00)
Introduction and Goals for the Episode: (00:04:04)
Why Christopher Wrote About Monetary Policy: (00:05:39)
Exploring the Institutions and Mechanisms of Monetary Policy: (00:08:25)
Understanding Inflation and its Causes: (00:10:40)
How the Federal Reserve System Works: Pushing Money In and Pulling Money Out: (00:14:11)
The Role of Bonds and What Happens at the End of a Bond: (00:20:51)
The Federal Reserve System During the Great Inflation of the 1970s: (00:24:08)
Quantitative Easing and the Easy Money Era of 2009-2020: Why It's Different from the Past: (00:31:00)
The Impact of Easy Money on the Economy and Society: (00:36:58)
How Quantitative Easing Widened the Wealth Gap, Increased Risk, and Enabled More Debt: (00:39:35)
The Current Macro Environment: How the SVB Connects to Easy Money and the Repo Bailout: (00:45:55)
What Should the Federal Reserve System Do Now?: (00:57:12)
What Can Individuals Do in Response to Monetary Policy?: (01:03:52)
The Rise and Fall of Empires: Ray Dalio's Alternative to the US Reserve Currency: (01:07:15)
The State of Capitalism and Reserve Currencies Today: (01:14:45)
Overrated and Underrated Questions to Conclude the Episode: (01:20:19)