This week’s EconTalk is Allan Meltzer talking about money, the Fed, gold, Bear Stearns, the stimulus program and even a few other things.
For me, the most interesting insights (and there were many) were about the political pressures the Fed faces. His story of how Martin, the Fed chair in the 1950’s and 1960’s went from being an inflation hawk to a inflation dove because of the differences between Eisenhower and LBJ is a perfect example of the importance of incentives.