Laudato Si
I would urge readers, no matter experience with arguments for and against the Federal Reserve, to read this piece, detailing how the existence of the Federal Reserve has increased the gap between rich & poor, thanks to the Cantillion Effect and Fractional Reserve Banking. The theory is expansive and has the explanatory power that the conjecture “greed did it” does not.
But not only is there a passive component to income redistribution from fiat money, there is also an active cronyist aspect. Just recently, very large transfers of funds took place just 7 milliseconds before the Federal Reserve changed interest rates. (No big deal, though, right Mother Jones?) Do I believe in conspiracy? Not really. But I absolutely believe someone at the Fed has tipped off his buddies.
We do not have inflation yet, but you can be certain that if the Fed does not figure out how to unwind the “excess liquidity” situation, inflation is sure to happen. And with the US plummeting on the list of the world’s freest economies (now at 17), you can be sure that inflation at home will not be pretty…