Born out of crisis a century ago, the Federal Reserve has become the most powerful macroeconomic policymaker and financial regulator in the world. The Myth of Independence traces the Feds transformation from a weak, secretive, and decentralized institution in 1913 to a remarkably transparent central bank a century later. Offering a unique account of Congresss role in steering this evolution, Sarah Binder and Mark Spindel explore the Feds past, present, and future and challenge the myth of its independence.
Binder and Spindel argue that recurring cycles of crisis, blame, and reform propelled lawmakers to create and revamp the powers and governance of the Fed at critical junctures, including the Panic of 1907, the Great Depression, the postwar Treasury-Fed Accord, the inflationary episode of the 1970s, and the recent financial crisis. Marshaling archival sources, interviews, and statistical analyses, the authors pinpoint political and economic dynamics that shaped interactions between the legislature and the Fed, and that have generated a far stronger central bank than anticipated at its founding. The Fed today retains its unique federal style, diluting the ability of lawmakers and the president to completely centralize control of monetary policy.
In the long wake of the financial crisis, with economic prospects decidedly subpar, partisan rivals in Congress seem poised to continue battling over the Feds statutory mandates and the powers given to achieve them. Examining the interdependent relationship between Americas Congress and its central bank, The Myth of Independence presents critical insights about the future of monetary and fiscal policies that drive the nations economy.
Sarah Binder is professor of political science at George Washington University and senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. Her books include Advice and Dissent and Stalemate. Mark Spindel has spent his entire career in investment management at such organizations as Salomon Brothers, the World Bank, and Potomac River Capital, a Washington D.C.--based hedge fund he started in 2007.
List of Illustrations ix
List of Tables xi
Acknowledgments xiii
1 Monetary Politics 1
2 The Blame Game 26
3 Creating the Federal Reserve 52
4 Opening the Act in the Wake of the Depression 82
5 Midcentury Modern Central Banking 124
6 The Great Inflation and the Limits of Independence 165
7 The Only Game in Town 201
8 The Myth of Independence 232
Notes 241
References 259
Index 275
