Donald Trump is taking aim at the most powerful, and most opaque, institution in the global economy: the Federal Reserve. By moving to oust Jay Powell through a criminal investigation, Trump has triggered a battle that cuts to the heart of who really controls money in America, and by extension, the world. Is this an unprecedented act of economic sabotage? A dangerous authoritarian power grab? Or is Trump simply calling the bluff of a self-regarding central banking elite who’ve been pulling the levers of the economy from their marble citadels for 40 years? In this episode, we go deep on interest rates, the dollar, and the political economy of money, from Nero and Henry VIII to Lenin and Hitler, to explain why powerful leaders have always wanted to control the currency. We explore what “financial repression” really means, why Trump wants rates at 1%, and who wins (and loses) when money is made cheap. What if the central bankers aren’t the neutral technocrats they claim to be? What if independence has been more myth than reality, and quantitative easing has already blurred the lines between the Fed and the government?
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