Letter from the Editor

Author Robert Hockett argues persuasively in his piece, “The Once and Future Fed,” that the Federal Reserve should allocate credit rather than just seek to control interest rates and inflation. In fact, he points out, the Fed once used to do that. An important piece. Is a booming stock market good or bad for labor power? William Van Lear explores the issues in his piece, “Stock Market Booms and Labor Bargaining Power.” Is there an upside to Trump’s capture of the Republican Party? Insightful economist Tom Palley says that it will at least force America to deal with the challenges that were launched with the Republican “Faustian bargain” with the wealthy beginning 40 years ago. He titles his piece, “Proto1⁄4 Fascism Unleashed.” The author insists it is time—and indeed possible—to target productivity growth as the most important objective of economic policy. Productivity has grown slowly for 40 years. Why do we tolerate it, asks Gregory Tassey in a critical piece, “A Productivity Focused Growth Model.” Can a federal employer-of-last-resort policy lead simultaneously to low unemployment and stable prices? This is a key tenet of modern monetary theory (MMT). Agustin Mario explores this and other issues as part of MMT.