by Jonathan Newman
Mises.org
In his new book Who Needs the Fed?, John Tamny makes a convincing case that the Federal Reserve is wholly unnecessary. Chapter after chapter, he offers examples of individuals engaging in credit transactions and explains how any government manipulation of these transactions is counterproductive or, at best, unnecessary.
From sports to Silicon Valley and Hollywood to Taylor Swift, Tamny reveals the importance of allocating resources to profitable uses. He argues that only individuals interacting in unhampered markets can perform such a task, and he calls upon Ludwig von Mises and Henry Hazlitt throughout the book to make this case.
Tamny is a fierce defender of free markets and he is as radical as Rothbard when it comes to taxation. I especially enjoyed his teardown of the supply-siders’ push to decrease marginal tax rates to increase total tax revenue.