Engine of Inequality: The Fed and the Future of Wealth in America

ISBN-13: 9781119726746 / Angielski / Twarda / 2021 / 288 str.

Karen Petrou

Recenzje

"[Petrou] draws a direct connection between the Federal Reserve's decisions and the rich getting richer, with others struggling to get by."--New York Times DealBook"Petrou's excellent new book explains how it has been exacerbated and accelerated by the financial policies that were set in place to save the financial system from collapse after the crisis of 2007 and 2008." --Dylan Schleicher, Editorial Director, Porchlight Books"Karen Petrou has for decades played the quiet role of consultant and adviser to banks, central banks, and large investors, helping them slash through the confusion of constantly evolving monetary and regulatory policy. It's a job that prioritizes dispassionate analysis over advocacy. Today, that changes, with the publication of her new book."--Matt Peterson, Barron's"Banking consultant Karen Petrou is right that Federal Reserve policies have helped the rich." --Peter Coy, Bloomberg BusinessWeek

Spis treści

Acknowledgments xiAbout the Author xiiiIntroduction xvChapter 1 Inequality: Why It's So Much Worse and What to Do About It 1What We Know about Inequality that Economists Don't 4The Economic-Recovery Mirage 5Why So Unequal So Fast? 7Regulatory Wreckage 12How to Fix Financial Policy 14Chapter 2 How Unequal Are We? 18Economic Inequality Fundamentals 19Who Has How Much 22What of Wealth? 24The Inequality Engine 24Worse Than That 25The Most Inclusive Ever? 27The Great Financial Crisis and Its Equality Aftermath 29Chapter 3 What Makes Us So Unequal 32The Mechanical Engineering of Economic Inequality 34Death and Taxes 35The Role of Transfer Payments 37A Supply-Side Solution? 38Public Wealth: A Sputtering Part in the Equality Engine 39Is Education the Answer? 41Is Trade Policy a Problem? 42Global Policy Reform? 43What to Do? 45Chapter 4 Why Does Economic Inequality Matter So Much? 46Inequality and Mortality 47Political Polarization 49Inequality's Eviscerating Cost 50Inequality and the Long Recession 52Financial-Crisis Risk 53Chapter 5 Following the Money 55How Central Banks Work 57The Modern Monetary-Policy Construct 60The Fed's Bailout Buckets 62The Fed's Payment Powers 64Rules of the Financial Road 65Four Fundamental Financial-Policy Flaws 69Chapter 6 How Monetary Policy Made Most of Us Poorer 73The Fed's Heavy Hand 76Why It's the Fed's Fault 77How Ultra-Low Interest Rates Made America Still Less Equal and QE Still More Inequitable 80The High Cost of Low-Rate Debt 83The Low-Unemployment Myth 85The Anti-Wealth Effect 87Making Matters Still Worse 91A Bigger Fed, Lower Rates, an Extreme Financial Crisis 93Chapter 7 How to Make Monetary Policy Make Us More Equal 95The Aggregate-Data Error 98The Fed's Real Mandate 102The Fourth Mandate 104The Fed's Giant Faucet 105Possible Solutions 108Slowing the Inequality Engine 111Chapter 8 Reckoning with Regulation 113Consumer Finance Before the Crash 115Are Debtors Just Deadbeats? 117Are Banks to Blame? 118The Businesses Banks Left Behind 120Other Precursors of the Crash That Came 121Capitalism and Capital Regulation 123A Capital Cure 127Going with the Flow 128Death without Destruction 130The Consumer-Protection Quagmire 131An Unreadable Rulebook Thrown Only at Banks 133The Bleak Outlook and a Better Future 134Chapter 9 Remaking Money 137What Money Is and Will Be 139The Great Unequalizer 141Turning Money into Data 143What Makes Money Good Money 145Crafting a Good Digital Dollar 146How Money Moves 148The Central-Bank Solution 151Chapter 10 Rules to Equitably Live By 153Why Not Just Deregulate? 156Learning to Love Like-Kind Rules 158The Specifics of Symmetric Regulation 161Raising Up the Regulatory Playing Field 162Building a New, Equality-Focused Banking System 165Banking While Mailing 166Establishing Equality Banks 168New Money for a New Mission 170Chapter 11 Financial Policy for an Equitable Future 175Turning the Fed into a Force for Good 176The Fed's Failings 178The Fed's Equality Toolkit 178The First Fix: Understanding America as It Is 180The Second Fix: Set an Equality Plan and Say So 181The Third Fix: A Far Smaller Fed Portfolio 183The Fourth Fix: Normal, Moderate Interest Rates 187The Final Fix: Ensuring Financial Stability 188Ending the Doom Loop 190The Future of Equitable Finance 192Notes 193Index 241

O autorze

Dubbed by American Banker as "the sharpest mind analyzing banking policy today--maybe ever," KAREN PETROU is one of the most influential experts on financial policy and regulation in the world. She is cofounder and Managing Partner of Federal Financial Analytics, a consulting firm that provides analysis and advisory services on legislative, regulatory, and public-policy issues. Known for nonpartisan analysis, Petrou has testified before many U.S. government agencies. She is frequently interviewed for expert commentary and her work has been featured in the Financial Times, Wall Street Journal, American Banker, and Marketplace. Recently, Petrou has been featured for her pro bono work developing a new financial instrument to speed treatments and cures for disabilities and diseases, starting with those that cause severe vision impairment. Karen lives in Washington D.C. with her husband Basil and guide dog, Zuni.