The Expanding Fed Role | Richard W. Rahn | Cato Institute: Commentary

The Expanding Fed Role | Richard W. Rahn | Cato Institute: Commentary: "The Fed is supposed to provide the United States with stable currency yet it now takes $21.60 to equal the purchasing power of $1 in 1913, the year the Fed was established. (In the 124 years prior to the founding of the Fed, there was almost no permanent change in the purchasing power of the dollar. There was some inflation during the Civil War, which was offset by a slow deflation in the 40 years after the war.)

The Fed is supposed to regulate the banking system to provide financial stability, yet far more banks have failed since the Fed was created, and events of the past year illustrate how the Fed has failed at providing financial stability."