The Fed was made to basically work in the financial system, right? The Fed exists for the financial system. That's how we set it up in 1913. But suddenly, we're having your neurosurgeon come out and treat you for the flu. Is this an effective way to run the society? I don't actually have a good answer to that question.
American government is designed to have components that are not directly accountable to the public. The Supreme Court is probably the most recognizable example, but it’s not the only one. In her new book, “Limitless: The Federal Reserve Takes On A New Age Of Crisis,” New York Times reporter Jeanna Smialek focuses on another unelected institution with a lot of power over American life: the Federal Reserve.
In this installment of the FiveThirtyEight Politics podcast, Smialek argues that over the past century, through successive crises, the Fed has accumulated the power to choose winners and losers across American markets and society on the whole. And if partisan loyalists were to make their way onto the Fed board, that degree of power could be abused.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices