The Human Action Podcast
Mark Thornton: Can the Fed Unwind?

Tags The Fed
Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen announced the bank would begin selling assets it has relentlessly bought since the Crash of '08. The financial press, including the Wall Street Journal, dutifully praised Yellen for her steady hand. But our guest Dr. Mark Thornton has a different take on what it all means for stock markets, investors, and the US economy. Can quantitative easing—a roundabout form of monetizing debt—actually work? Can monetary policy make us rich? Or, are Fed officials just groping in the dark, putting off a day of reckoning? Jeff Deist and Mark Thornton unwind the narrative.
Mark Thornton is the Peterson-Luddy Chair in Austrian Economics and a Senior Fellow at the Mises Institute. He is the book review editor of the Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics, and has authored seven books and is a frequent guest on national radio shows.