Why the Fed Can't Actually Print Your Money Away

What actually is a dollar? Not what you think it should be — what it actually is, right now, in the modern economy. Andy Tanner sits down with Professor J.W. Mason, heterodox economist and author of Against Money, for one of the most thought-provoking conversations in the show's history. They cover how money works as a social technology, why the Fed's "money printing" after 2008 didn't cause inflation — and why the COVID stimulus did, the real story behind Weimar-style hyperinflation, and why understanding what a dollar is might be the most important thing an investor can learn. This isn't an episode about which policy is right. It's about understanding the rules of the game well enough to play it — regardless of who's making the calls. If you're going to buy assets that produce dollars, you'd better know what a dollar actually is.