Obviously there are limits to plebiscite-type arrangements, but town hall meetings on interest rates wouldn't be so bad.
There are also issues of transparency in Fed governance, accessibility of meetings, records, etc.
mbs
Hi,
I'm curious as to what "democratizing the Fed" entails in practice? Do we get to vote and have town hall meetings on interest rates? Impeach Greenspan if he has a sordid affair? I'm having a hard time picturing participatory finance policy (which is why i lean towards scrapping the whole mess). Outside of capitalist conflict over Fed policy, what would the hypothetical leftist Fed look like?
suresh
>
>>My top reforms:
>>
>>democratize the Fed
>>strengthen its full-employment mandate
>>regulate for fair credit allocation in minority communities
>>create public banks in poor neighborhoods to take over basic
>> fin services (check cashing, etc.)
>>
>>Was that too anti-semitic?
>
>No. I agree with the public banks part. Take it up with the
>bourgeoisie - they won't be pleased.
>
>As for "democratizing the Fed," it'd also be nice to democratize
>Congress. That aside, this is where we get into the Kalecki
>kontroversy. Most industrialists don't want labor markets to be too
>tight. They may have a slightly more generous definition of full
>employment than your average denizen of the bond pits, but not much.
>In other words, there's no significant difference between big
>industry and big finance over Fed policy. If there were, the Fed
>would be a lot more controversial politically than it is.
>
>"Minority communities" need credit less than they need infrastructure
>investment and social spending. The last thing they need is to be
>deeper in hock to The Man.
>
>Doug
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