Judy Shelton and Congressional Powers
In my 21 July 2020 editorial endorsing Judy Shelton's candidacy for the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, I argued that monetary policy should not be completely walled off from the political process:
In my piece, I mainly contemplate the issue of political interference from a practical, not a constitutional, perspective. However, the New York Sun reminded me that Congress has the Section-One power "to coin Money, regulate the Value thereof." The Sun notes:
Not only is democratic accountability the pragmatic approach to monetary policy, it is constitutionally mandated. Congress has erred by capitulating these prerogatives to unelected bureaucrats who act under the veneer of "science" and, as I explain in my editorial, the consequences have been grave.
The Sun also informed me of an excellent quote from Shelton: "I think that money has to work the same for everyone in the economy, and it’s important that it serve that purpose as a reliable measure, so that people can plan their lives." Unfortunately, the Fed has failed to meet even this most basic criterion. The dollar lost 70% of its value between 1964 and 1984, a period that included the cancelation of the silver standard and the international gold standard and the full-scale adoption of fiat money/the Ph.D. standard.
Senators: Take back control of monetary policy by confirming Judy Shelton as a Federal Reserve governor.
Shelton is correct to assert that "the Fed's power over the economy needs to be reined in," as the Post puts it. Though the president should not be able to order the production of money at whim, monetary policy ... is hardly an exact science. Connecting it with the political process would ensure more accountability for irresponsible technocrats promulgating arbitrary decrees.
In my piece, I mainly contemplate the issue of political interference from a practical, not a constitutional, perspective. However, the New York Sun reminded me that Congress has the Section-One power "to coin Money, regulate the Value thereof." The Sun notes:
Contrary to nearly two centuries of American law, the dollar is no longer defined by statute today. That ended in the 1970s. At some point, we predict, the Fed will want to take its own look at whether that was wise. It doesn’t make any sense for Congress to fret about this. For it is to solely the Congress that the Constitution grants the power to coin money and regulate its value in the first place.
Not only is democratic accountability the pragmatic approach to monetary policy, it is constitutionally mandated. Congress has erred by capitulating these prerogatives to unelected bureaucrats who act under the veneer of "science" and, as I explain in my editorial, the consequences have been grave.
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| Judy Shelton |
The Sun also informed me of an excellent quote from Shelton: "I think that money has to work the same for everyone in the economy, and it’s important that it serve that purpose as a reliable measure, so that people can plan their lives." Unfortunately, the Fed has failed to meet even this most basic criterion. The dollar lost 70% of its value between 1964 and 1984, a period that included the cancelation of the silver standard and the international gold standard and the full-scale adoption of fiat money/the Ph.D. standard.
Senators: Take back control of monetary policy by confirming Judy Shelton as a Federal Reserve governor.
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