tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-913439.post6118949196949923954..comments2024-02-26T11:30:05.072-08:00Comments on winterspeak.com: Institutional role of the Federal Reservewinterspeakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13611241702356475764noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-913439.post-30729111511108076822013-01-22T09:35:57.324-08:002013-01-22T09:35:57.324-08:00it's been a while since I saw Nixon, and I don...it's been a while since I saw Nixon, and I don't remember that being my major takeaway from that film ; )<br /><br />I do like Yes, Minister, however, which makes a similar point : )winterspeakhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13611241702356475764noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-913439.post-32253135202674546612013-01-18T23:33:54.159-08:002013-01-18T23:33:54.159-08:00"And the reason for that is, IMHO, because it..."And the reason for that is, IMHO, because it disrupts the informal institutional arrangements that the two entities have built up over the past 80 years or so. Congress & Presidents come and go -- we're talking institutions here!"<br /><br />This is a good way of putting, I think you're probably right. Did you see Oliver Stone's biopic Nixon? It sort of illustrates your point that institutions stay in place while the politicians come and go.beowulfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14987548132065830204noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-913439.post-62311856134722017722013-01-18T18:45:58.875-08:002013-01-18T18:45:58.875-08:00I'm fine with your take on the coin but I don&...I'm fine with your take on the coin but I don't get the last part about the 'core plank'. <br /><br />Are we to understand that democracies require a debt ceiling to function properly? What about other democracies without such an institutional feature?circuithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08565443970730261572noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-913439.post-21504502825865483992013-01-18T09:00:00.447-08:002013-01-18T09:00:00.447-08:00beowulf
totally agree. according to the formal re...beowulf<br /><br />totally agree. according to the formal requirements, a $1T could legally happen, and as you say the Fed & Treasury could have finessed it somehow if they chose to manage optics.<br /><br />therefore, I think the reason it didn't happen is because the Fed & Treasury didn't want it to happen. And the reason for that is, IMHO, because it disrupts the informal institutional arrangements that the two entities have built up over the past 80 years or so. Congress & Presidents come and go -- we're talking institutions here!winterspeakhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13611241702356475764noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-913439.post-51092382849043587782013-01-17T20:12:19.098-08:002013-01-17T20:12:19.098-08:00"or the same reason that a Republican Whiteho..."or the same reason that a Republican Whitehouse, Congress, and Senate won't be able to disband the State Department..." <br />Only the Pentagon could pull that off. :O)<br /><br />The problem here is Tsy and the Fed could easily have finessed this issue so the Fed kept the whip hand on monetary policy. For example, Tsy and the Fed could have issued a joint statement that they agreed only the Fed can order coins from the Mint and that Tsy isn't allowed to put coins to it (I disagree, see 31 USC 3302, but Paris is worth a mass and all that).<br /><br />After making that point, the Fed could announce the NY Fed had placed a Mint order for a trillion dollar in coinage and the Secretary of the Treasury had agreed to comply with this order. Easy Peasy indeed. beowulfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14987548132065830204noreply@blogger.com