Allowing elected officials to control the money supply is a bit like allowing children the decision to determine how much candy they can eat. These are people

Allowing elected officials to control the money supply is a bit like allowing children the decision to determine how much candy they can eat. These are people who have shown time and again willingness to take short term gains that come with long term expenses because of the fact that ultimately it'll be their successor's problem (who often is a member of the other party anyway). The whole point of the Fed is to attempt to have an adult in the room that can decide it's time to put the bag of candy back in the cabinet, or bring it out when it's use as a motivator is helpful in ramping up an otherwise sluggish economy. At the end of the day, the premise that infinitely growing debt isn't the end of the world is probably sound, provided that its rate of growth is kept in check. Avoiding a situation where the money supply goes exponential is crucial. Unfortunately... https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/M2SL https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/M2SL looks a lot like some charts I remember from 8th grade algebra. That we likely just need to fix the trajectory rather than actually bring down the money supply should offer some solace, but those used to the sugar high of the last decade or so are likely in for a rude awakening over the next few years -- and whether that awakening is enough to rip apart civil society may ultimately be something that remains to be seen.