Modern theories of money often begin with the state. According to chartalists—from Georg Friedrich Knapp’s The State Theory of Money through modern proponents such as L. Randall Wray, with David Graeber’s Debt: The First 5,000 Years as a popular fellow traveller—money originates in taxation, legal decree, and state accounting systems.
Modern societies increasingly seek certainty. Governments, corporations, and experts increasingly rely on ever more sophisticated technologies to predict behavior, manage risk, coordinate complex systems, and reduce uncertainty. Artificial intelligence promises unprecedented efficiency. Algorithms detect patterns invisible to the human eye. Vast administrative networks collect and process information on a scale that previous generations could scarcely have imagined.
In his 6/23 Truth Social post (figure 1), President Trump noted that the prices paid by major American oil companies for foreign crude are falling much faster than the prices of their retail products, and suggested that there is something criminal about this that the Department of Justice (DOJ) needs to look into:
Figure 1: Trump Denounces Oil Price “Gouging”
Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan passed away last week at the age of 100. Greenspan chaired the Fed from 1987 through 2006.
Despite being a lifelong Republican, Greenspan refused to lower interest rates, though doing so may have helped George H.W. Bush’s 1992 reelection campaign. However, he did tailor monetary policy to support President Clinton’s 1993 budget, as well as the 1997 bipartisan budget deal.
The Supreme Court said more than they needed to in Trump v. Cook. Their narrow task was to decide whether Lisa Cook should be allowed to remain on the Federal Reserve Board while the litigation over Trump’s attempted removal of her continues. The 5-4 decision was that she should remain in office for the time being.
