This chapter is about the central bank. It says the bank has too much power and too many jobs. It wants one job only: keeping money stable. It also lays out bigger changes, including a return to gold, without picking one.
The document says “should”Who acts: CongressHow: legislationp. 732 in the PDF
What the document says
“Congress should limit its mandate to the sole objective of stable money.”
The central bank currently has a dual mandate covering both stable prices and maximum employment. The chapter argues that because of its expanded discretionary powers over monetary and regulatory policy it lacks both operational effectiveness and political independence, and that narrowing the mandate would protect its independence and improve outcomes.
What the document actually says
“Congress should limit its mandate to the sole objective of stable money.”
That sentence, in plain words
The Fed should have one job only. That job is keeping money stable.
What this is about
The Fed is told to do two things. Keep prices steady and keep people in work. The book says it should do only the first.
The document says “should”Who acts: Congress, Federal ReserveHow: legislationp. 734 in the PDF
What the document says
“Federal Reserve balance sheet purchases should be limited by Congress, and the Federal Reserve’s existing balance sheet should be wound down as quickly as is prudent”
The chapter asks that the balance sheet return to levels similar to those before the 2008 crisis, and that the central bank be barred from further purchases of mortgage-backed securities and wind down its holdings by selling them or letting them mature without replacement.
What the document actually says
“Federal Reserve balance sheet purchases should be limited by Congress, and the Federal Reserve’s existing balance sheet should be wound down as quickly as is prudent”
That sentence, in plain words
Congress should cap what the Fed buys. What it already holds should be sold off.
What this is about
The Fed bought huge amounts of bonds after 2008. It still holds them. The book says it should sell them off.
The document says “should”Who acts: CongressHow: legislationp. 734 in the PDF
What the document says
“Reserve should be prohibited from picking winners and losers among asset classes.”
The chapter says this above all means limiting intervention in the mortgage-backed securities market, and also eliminating intervention in corporate and municipal debt markets. It calls the mortgage activities a paradigmatic case of what monetary policy should not do, noting home prices rose 42 percent between February 2020 and August 2022.
What the document actually says
“Reserve should be prohibited from picking winners and losers among asset classes.”
That sentence, in plain words
The Fed should not be allowed to pick winners among assets.
What this is about
The Fed buys some kinds of debt and not others. That helps those markets. The book says it should not choose favorites.
The document says “should”Who acts: Federal Reserve, CongressHow: legislationp. 735 in the PDF
What the document says
“Stop paying interest on excess reserves.”
The chapter describes the policy, begun during the 2008 crisis, as the central bank effectively printing money and borrowing it back from banks rather than banks lending it to the public, calls it a transfer to Wall Street at the expense of the public, and notes excess reserves have reached $3.1 trillion, up seventyfold since 2007. It asks that Congress bring back the pre-2008 system founded on open-market operations, which it says minimizes the power to allocate credit preferentially.
What the document actually says
“Stop paying interest on excess reserves.”
That sentence, in plain words
The Fed pays banks to leave money with it. That should stop.
What this is about
Banks park spare money at the Fed. The Fed pays them interest on it. The book says that money should be lent out instead.
The document says “could”Who acts: CongressHow: legislationp. 738 in the PDF
What the document says
“In addition, Congress could simply allow individuals to use commodity-backed money without fully replacing the current system.”
The chapter sets out several structural paths, including full gold backing, gold-convertible Treasury instruments and a parallel gold standard operating temporarily alongside the current dollar. It says such transitional arrangements should be temporary so that the discipline gold imposes on government spending arrives quickly. It presents these as options rather than settling on one.
What the document actually says
“In addition, Congress could simply allow individuals to use commodity-backed money without fully replacing the current system.”
That sentence, in plain words
Congress could let people use money backed by gold. The current system would stay.
What this is about
Today's dollar is not backed by gold. The book looks at going back to that. One option is to let people choose gold-backed money alongside dollars.
The chapter's proposals to narrow the central bank's mandate, limit its balance sheet, end interest on excess reserves and stop it favoring particular asset classes, plus the structural options it sets out.
The chapter's extended technical comparison of monetary rules, which weighs options rather than choosing between them.
On the bigger structural questions this chapter presents options rather than a single position. It sets out free banking, commodity-backed money, a K-Percent Rule, nominal GDP targeting and the Taylor Rule, discusses the drawbacks of each, and does not settle on one. Only the proposals it states directly are indexed as proposals.
