Inside Political Science #038 – The Money “Monopolist”

What’s the Federal Reserve, and how does it function? Join Kirby and Todd as they sit down with Texas A&M professor Bill Clark to learn about the significance of The Fed and how it affects our economy. Although the institution is said to operate independently from the government, Clark says the Federal Reserve is actually “partially independent,” with dependence on policymakers like Congress and the President. The professors explain that the economy is the institution’s main focus when maintaining balance. Clark refers to the Republican Party as “inflation hawks,” whose main focus is to decrease inflation, and the Democratic Party as “fiscally liberal,” whose main focus is to reduce unemployment rates. Later, they discuss the framework of the Federal Reserve, emphasizing that it is a system made up of Federal Reserve Banks across the nation that provide more representative feedback for the economy. For more on this show and to listen to past episodes, visit tx.ag/insidepoliticalscience.