That was fast! While Lael Brainard has been on the Federal Reserve Board since 2014, she’s only held the position of Vice Chair since last May. Her Valentine’s Day resignation was quite surprising.
Most people would be unfamiliar with her. Only those who take interest in the Fed’s affairs could recognize her, and even those people, like myself, would be hard pressed to narrow down her significant accomplishments.
Luckily Fed Chair Jerome Powell shared some of her contributions:
Lael has brought formidable talent and superb results to everything she has done at the Federal Reserve.
Sounds impressive… but surely there’s substance:
That lengthy list includes her thought leadership on monetary policy and economic research, her stewardship of financial stability and the payments system, strengthening the financial system both domestically and globally, and helping to manage the immense operational agency challenges during the pandemic.
Not much has been cited. This is not to pick on Lael, but it speaks to the entire Federal Reserve System. It’s run by the Board of Governors who deliberate monetary policy for the stated reason of protecting the nation as a whole, but in reality it is to protect the interests of existing power structures in society. The cost of this is astounding! The 2021 financials reveal Board of Governors operating expenses and currency costs amounted to $2.005 billion.
No details have ever been provided as to what the Board of Governors does with all this money. One would think there would be something to show for their efforts.
It’s an expensive catch-22. The Fed has a profound impact on the economy, with the ability to legally counterfeit currency and alter interest rates. Yet at the same time, anyone could do the job as a member of the Board of Governors so long as they stick to the script. It is why Judy Shelton never got appointed. Judy was far too vocal and they would never be able to fully trust her to fully commit to their Monetary Machination Techniques.
No hidden knowledge, data interpretation, historical understanding, or any acknowledgment of economic theory is required; the job runs itself. The playbook can be simplified: Expand the money supply/lower rates, cause the boom. The bust will happen regardless; but to exacerbate things, the Fed can decrease the money supply/increase rates. Once a bank goes bankrupt, a housing crisis sets in, or any other calamity occurs, the Fed will claim to solve the crisis by once again expanding the money supply and lowering rates, setting in motion the next bust.
Anyone could be a member of the Fed’s inner circle, so long as they can depend on you to do the only thing they know how to do: stick to a perpetual policy of inflation.
If there’s anything to remember from Brainard’s tenure at the Fed, it’s this quote from a paper she wrote in in 2022 called Bringing Down Inflation, reminding us:
We are in this for as long as it takes to get inflation down.
The beauty of these jobs is that one is allowed to say anything, including outlandish promises about the future, with little to no recourse. She can move on with her life to a new job that will offer a competitive salary, pension, and benefits, as all the havoc she and her co-workers unleashed will continue for a very long time. Meanwhile, millions of other adults must produce something society values in order to barely scrape by; it is the working poor who pay dearest for the Fed.
Brainard’s next role will be as Director of the National Economic Council where she’ll advise the Biden administration on economic policy. Looking at their statement of priorities they are focusing on:
… actions to control the COVID-19 pandemic, provide economic relief, tackle climate change, and advance racial equity and civil rights, as well as immediate actions to reform our immigration system and restore America’s standing in the world.
