Fed Up: An Insider's Take on Why the Federal Reserve is Bad for America

A former Federal Reserve insider takes readers inside the central bank that steers the American economy and explains why she believes it has gone badly wrong. After predicting the 2008 housing collapse and leaving a senior Wall Street post, the author was hired as an analyst at the Dallas branch of the Fed. She was struck by how insular the institution was, with policy driven by academic models that seemed disconnected from ordinary life. Working alongside her boss, she and her colleagues repeatedly warned about the dangers of near-zero interest rates and massive bond purchases. Now she traces what followed the decision in late 2008 to flood the economy with cheap money: a slow recovery that has favored markets and the wealthy while leaving many families, young adults and retirees struggling. She also considers what happens when the next crisis arrives and the Fed has few tools left, drawing on her years inside the bank, conversations with market professionals and official records.