Lev Menand and Nathan Tankus on Why Fed Independence Is Now Hanging by a Thread
Last August, President Trump made the unprecedented choice of moving to fire Fed governor Lisa Cook. The administration claimed she was being terminated with cause, citing an ongoing investigation in alleged mortgage fraud committed by Cook. The legal battle between Cook and the administration has been tangled in the courts for the last year, eventually reaching the Supreme Court. This June, in a 5-4 decision, the court ruled in favor of Cook. However at the same time, in a different case, the court allowed the President to fire individual members of the FTC, undermining its role as quasi-independent body not beholden to the executive branch. So what are the implications here? How can the court change the status of a body like the FTC while allowing the Fed to continue operating as is? And for how long will the Fed maintain some amount of operational autonomy? On this episode we speak with Columbia Law School's Lev Menand who just wrote a piece on these two cases for Just Security called The Federal Reserve Exception to the Slaughter Rule as well as Nathan Tankus (writer and president of Notes on the Crises). The two of them lay out the consequences of these two decisions and they dig into the generations-long legal history, starting with Alexander Hamilton, that explains how we got here.
Read more: Can Trump Still Fire Lisa Cook After Her Supreme Court Win?
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The Treasury Payment System Elon Musk Now Has Access To
Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) have gained access to a unit within the Treasury Department called the Bureau of Fiscal Service. But what does this unit actually do? How critical of a role does it play in the operations of government, and potentially, financial markets? On this episode, we speak with Nathan Tankus, the author of the Notes On The Crises newsletter. He explains both the technical aspect of this office, as well as the legal questions surrounding impoundment and the ability of the executive branch to cut off payments that have been previously authorized by Congress. We also talk about the operational risks and the potential disaster scenario should this system — which has been built in COBOL over decades — go down.
Read More: US Treasury Brings In Two Members From Musk’s DOGE Team
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172 - DEBATE: Why We Need a Digital Dollar | Rohan Grey vs. RSA
Rohan Grey is an assistant professor at Willamette University College of Law and has been involved in the world of politics and government as it relates to our public money systems.
You might remember him as the guy behind the STABLE Act (Stablecoin And Bank Licensing Enforcement) which turned into an episode we did with him in December of 2020.
The topic of CBDC and the politicization of our money system has returned, so we wanted to get Rohan back on to learn about what this conversation from his point of view.
------ ✨ DEBRIEF | Unpacking the episode: https://www.bankless.com/debrief-rohan-grey
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------ In today’s episode, Rohan helps us understand:
1) Who are the power structures supporting and fighting over the CBDC 2) Why the crypto community might have to support a digital dollar… or else!? 3) Why you should be skeptical about the anti-Gensler politicians 4) Finding the common ground between Rohan and Bankless
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------ TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 Intro 7:39 CBDC Fight in D.C.? 9:20 What Side Is Rohan On? 11:07 Public vs. Private Money 14:36 The Political Chessboard 25:11 Republicans & CBDCs 30:22 Anti-Gensler Republicans 34:23 Central Bank Independence 40:15 Elizabeth Warren War on Crypto 51:25 Crypto x Political Alignment 57:50 The Case for Crypto 1:02:52 Public Goods & Capitalism 1:04:33 Digital Dollar & Privacy 1:07:21 The Central Banker Problem 1:16:49 Property Rights 1:22:44 Rohan’s Advice to Builders 1:28:09 Closing & Disclaimers
------ RESOURCES:
Rohan Grey https://twitter.com/rohangrey Rohan’s Previous Bankless Episode https://youtu.be/1ywsNq0XAfE
No Spy Cash https://www.nospycash.com/
----- Not financial or tax advice. This channel is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. This video is not tax advice. Talk to your accountant. Do your own research.
Disclosure. From time-to-time I may add links in this newsletter to products I use. I may receive commission if you make a purchase through one of these links. Additionally, the Bankless writers hold crypto assets. See our investment disclosures here: https://www.bankless.com/disclosures
Ethereum vs The STABLE Act | Rohan Grey
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Ethereum vs The STABLE Act | Rohan Grey
Rohan Grey is an assistant professor of Law at Willamette University, an Advisor to politicians including Rashida Tlaib, and one of the authors of the STABLE Act, which wants to impose Federal Bank Chartering upon any stablecoin issuer.
Interesting, this proposed legislation includes entities like Square's Cash App or PayPal! Anything that offers a claim on 1 Dollar is cited by this law.
Rohan and the STABLE Act appear to be an outgrowth of the rise of MMT and the power and ability of the state to solve economic problems like poverty and joblessness. Rohan wants to protect 'money', which he believes is a public institution that needs protecting!
Also interestingly, the goals of the STABLE Act and DeFi are highly similar, yet are opposing in their strategies for achieving these goals.
Tune into the conversation to learn about a diversity of perspectives regarding how to protect money!
The STABLE Act:https://tlaib.house.gov/media/press-releases/tlaib-garcia-and-lynch-stableact
Coin Center's comment on the STABLE Act:https://www.coincenter.org/the-unintended-consequences-of-the-stable-act/
------Don't stop at the video!
Subscribe to the Bankless newsletter programhttp://bankless.substack.com/
Visit the official Bankless website for resourceshttp://banklesshq.com/
Follow Bankless on Twitterhttps://twitter.com/BanklessHQ
Follow Ryan on Twitter|https://twitter.com/ryansadams
Follow David on Twitterhttps://twitter.com/TrustlessState -----Not financial or tax advice. This channel is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. This video is not tax advice. Talk to your accountant. Do your own research.
Disclosure. From time-to-time we may add links in this channel to products we use. We may receive commission if you make a purchase through one of these links. We'll always disclose when this is the case
How The Coronavirus Crisis Pushed The Fed Into Truly Uncharted Territory
The fate of the economy remains extremely unclear. However there is little doubt that the Fed has taken dramatic steps to arrest the crisis. Not only has Jerome Powell’s Federal Reserve dusted off old tools that were designed during the last crisis, it’s engaged in unconventional actions, such as lending directly to municipal authorities, as well as becoming a player in the market for private sector corporate debt. Amid this crisis, Nathan Tankus, a researcher at the Modern Money Network, has emerged as one of the foremost experts on what the Fed has done, and what it’s capable of doing, through his widely read newsletter. He joined us on this episode to explain and contextualize the historic nature of the Fed’s actions so far.
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Why The War On Physical Cash Is A War On Freedom
Commerce and payments are increasingly digital. This shift from physical to electronic is one that governments and businesses are eager to accelerate for a host of reasons. But what gets lost when we no longer have access to physical cash? On this episode, we speak with Rohan Grey, President of The Modern Money Network and the research director of the Digital Fiat Currency Institute about how governments can introduce digital currencies that enable electronic commerce, while preserving the privacy protections of physical cash.
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