By Aly Kamadia, Editor-In-Chief, iDose
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There’s a fun quote attributed (perhaps incorrectly) to the late 15th century statesman Niccolò Machiavelli. Best known for presiding as the ‘father of modern political philosophy’ and stamping his thoughts into eternity (i.e., his most famous book being The Prince), Machiavelli is said to have stated: “It is not titles that honor men, but men that honor titles”.
Can any quote be truer?
Whether we glimpse at the business, religious, political or economic world, too often we unearth lofty titles bestowed upon individuals who are simply unworthy of them. Popular ‘respect’ afforded to such individuals is a mere byproduct of their titles, rather than any regard for talent or character.
Is this the case for the Chairman who I am hoping is fired from his current job?
On one hand, the head of the US Federal Reserve (“Fed”), Chairman Jerome Powell, can’t be accused for being a complete clown (at least by modern standards). Powell is perfectly capable of holding sensible conversations about economics and is an experienced practitioner.
Though a degree of specialized competence and plenty of experience doesn’t shield Powell from harboring views that are patently absurd.
As Nobel Prize Winning Economist Joseph Stiglitz notes in a piece featured this month by iDose, Powell enthusiastically supported President Trump’s deregulatory agenda, doesn’t want the Fed to play a part in addressing climate change, and is allergic to any efforts aimed at remedying historical income or wealth inequality. (Note that Stiglitz also offers additional arguments against re-nominating Powell after February 2022.)
The idea that the Fed should not play any role in addressing these fundamental issues of our time, despite the fact that it is the most powerful economic institution in human history (e.g., at the height of the pandemic, the Fed was pumping roughly one million dollars per second into the economy), reveals judgement that is clouded by ideology – specifically the radical so-called ‘free market’ doctrine that is all too familiar to Powell’s Republican predecessors, both Ben Bernanke and Alan Greenspan.
It is an ideology based on assumptions of human behavior that only lives in the pages of fiction and can’t be found in the real world.
It is an ideology that has, on balance, caused much more economic and social harm than good.
It is an ideology that is long overdue to be buried.
And though I cross my fingers in hope that President Biden finds the courage to pick up a shovel and start digging a grave, I hear whispers from the late Mr. Machiavelli warning me to keep my expectations in check.
After all, the fact that Lael Brainard has proved herself to be the perfect woman to lead the Fed is hardly a guarantee that she’ll get the job in February 2022.
Stay safe,
