Sanctions Impact Due More to U.S. Economic Strength Than Dollar’s Reserve Currency Role

Summary Sanctions on Russia are devastating to the Russian economy Power of the sanctions is due to concerted international action, not to the US role as world’s “reserve currency” U.S. economic power owes more to the size of U.S. economy than to dollar’s reserve status Dollar overvaluation continues to be a huge problem for U.S.…

Can the MAC Make the Federal Funds Rate More Effective?

Background When inflation threatens America’s stability and economic growth, the Fed raises the Federal Funds Rate (FFR). This reduces domestic demand for borrowed funds, and that reduces the growth of domestic money in circulation and thus the rate of inflation. This approach worked reasonably well from the 1930s when the FFR became an official policy…

Opinion | Biden jobs plan can be paid for by fixing overvalued U.S. dollar

President Biden is showing that he’s serious about his pledge to “Build Back Better.” His new $2.3 trillion “American Jobs Plan” offers a blueprint for both investing in the nation’s infrastructure and rebuilding U.S. manufacturing. Now, it’s Congress’s turn to weigh in on the specifics of the president’s proposal—and how to pay for it. If…

Foreign Direct Investors will Love the Market Access Charge (MAC)

By John R. Hansen, CPA Advisory Board Would the MAC discourage foreign direct investment in the United States?  Some readers have suggested that capital being brought into the United States to finance greenfield foreign direct investment should be exempted from the MAC. We should not, they argue, do anything to discourage productivity enhancing investment in America’s manufacturing…