John Kenneth GalbraithJohn Kenneth Galbraith, (1908-2006) Canadian-born economist, Harvard professor

John Kenneth Galbraith Quote

“The Federal Reserve System is treated by nearly all economists with reverence. On no matter is their instruction of the young in the subtlety and benignity of established institutions more admiring-or, in broad effect, more successful. Corporations are flawed by an instinct for monopoly. Trade unions interfere with the market, urge trade restrictions, resist new technology and thus obstruct progress, and they can fall victim to extortionists and racketeers. The regulatory agencies of the government are notably imperfect instruments of economic guidance. The Federal Reserve System is not totally above criticism. It makes many mistakes but these are always interesting errors of judgment. they are examined not critically but respectfully to discover why men of insight went wrong. That for such error anyone should be sacked or even seriously rebuked is, for economists, nearly unthinkable. This approval goes back to the origins and can be highly negligent of circumstance. The most widely read account of the genesis of the System tells glowingly of its birth in the closing weeks of 1913 when the Federal Reserve Act was passed by Congress and signed by President Wilson.”

John Kenneth GalbraithJohn Kenneth Galbraith
~ John Kenneth Galbraith

"Money: Whence It Came, Where It Went"

Ratings and Comments


jim k, Austin, Tx

We got the income tax and the Federal Reserve both in 1913 and it's been down hill ever since.

Mike, Norwalk

Unions can have a useful purpose but . . .

Fredrick William Sillik, Anytown

The Federal Reserve System, like the constitution needs more grounding, connection, and internalization into the individual citizen's daily psych,  regard, attention, and practices.

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