Law Commons^™

The Federal Reserve We Need: It’S The Fed We Once Had, Timothy A. Canova

Timothy A. Canova

This article considers the empirical record of the 1942-1951 period of Federal Reserve history when the Fed was more politically accountable and more independent of private financial interests. During the 1940s, federal spending was nearly twice as high as today, and federal borrowing was more than three times higher. Yet, from 1942 to 1951, the Federal Reserve was directed by the White House and Treasury to peg interest rates at 3/8 of one percent on short-term Treasury borrowing and 2.0 to 2.5 percent on long-term borrowing. The U.S. economy grew at a real annual rate of 15 to 20 percent …