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Engine of Inequality, by Karen Petrou
The first book to reveal how the Federal Reserve holds the key to making us more economically equal, written by an author with unparalleled expertise in the real world of financial policy.
Following the 2008 financial crisis, the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy placed much greater focus on stabilizing the market than on helping struggling Americans. As a result, the richest Americans got a lot richer while the middle class shrank and economic and wealth inequality skyrocketed. In Engine of Inequality, Karen Petrou offers pragmatic solutions for creating more inclusive monetary policy and equality-enhancing financial regulation as quickly and painlessly as possible.
“Petrou’s book uncovers a hidden engine of our skyrocketing inequality: financial-policy. In an accessible and engaging prose, Petrou takes us through the inner workings of monetary policy at the Fed and financial regulations, how they’ve made inequality worse and how they could instead be retooled to take us to a more equitable future. A novel look at the problem of inequality and bold ideas to help resolve it. A must read.”—Emmanuel Saez, Professor of Economics at the University of California Berkeley and author of The Triumph of Injustice
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Industry Expert
Federal Financial Analytics (FedFin) is a Washington-based financial services-consulting firm that has for decades attracted a high-powered clientele in Washington, on Wall Street, and among global central bankers. Since 1985 FedFin has provided a unique blend of analysis and strategic advice on public policy, regulatory, and legislative issues for industry and governmental clients doing business in the U.S. and abroad.
A proprietary think-tank for its clients, FedFin reviews critical federal and global policy developments in banking, insurance, asset management, and mortgage finance, analyzes them in great depth, and then advises clients on whether what they want can be made to work for them, within the policy environment and for the financial system. It is FedFin’s guiding principle to be an honest broker, and clients depend on the fact that the firm does not offer lobbying or any other services that could compromise its objectivity and independence.
As seen In:
In the News
American Banker, Wednesday, November 6, 2024
Trump win likely to delay Basel III, imperil Biden bank regulation By Ebrima Santos Sanneh The incoming Trump administration is likely to lead to swift turnover at bank regulatory agencies, which would push finalization of new capital standards for large banks further down the road.... Karen Petrou, a managing partner [...]
American Banker, Wednesday, October 16, 2024
TD money-laundering scandal puts supervision back under the microscope By Kyle Campbell After using one of its most powerful enforcement tools to crack down on rampant money laundering at TD Bank, a Washington regulator finds its own oversight functions under the microscope. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency [...]
Marketplace, Monday, October 14, 2024
What can quarterly earnings tell us about the economy? Marketplace talks with Karen Petrou Listen here: https://www.marketplace.org/2024/10/14/what-can-quarterly-earnings-tell-us-about-the-economy/
Issues in Focus
The Vault
FedFin Assessment: Trump II Financial-Policy Outlook
Given the likelihood of a Trump win, we turn in this report to our outlook for federal financial policy in a very different Administration than the one that has set it for the last four years. We will refine this outlook when final tallies determine Congressional control, but slim margins will dog both parties and thus significantly complicate the legislative outlook. Congress, like the White House, will also be preoccupied [...]
FedFin Assessment: Election Uncertainty and Financial Policy
FedFin will continue our practice of providing in-depth analyses in this tumultuous election once key races are decided. However, clients have asked for an interim report on the outlook if election uncertainty persists and, worse, if it is accompanied by civil unrest. As detailed in this report, we see no near-term implications for what might be considered course-of-business financial policy decisions even though many of these are, like the capital [...]
FedFin on: Consumer Data Rights/Open Banking
The CFPB has finalized in largely unchanged form its very controversial proposal requiring banks, fintechs, and certain other parties holding retail-customer personal data to share that data with third parties such as data aggregators following a consumer’s request. The new rule will make it easier for consumers to obtain personal financial data from incumbent providers to assess alternative products and new providers or value-added services such as financial planning or [...]