Yes, we all know that the Fed printed a boatload of new dollars during the pandemic; that the Fed was late on the inflation train; and thus asset prices and goods prices alike chartered a rocket for the moon.
(how am I doing with locomotion analogies?!)
This bit that Authers echo to us from Kotok's new book is good:
“Pandemics kill people not capital,” says Kotok. “Poor people die more than rich people, and wealth per capita goes up.” Pumping up the values of assets held mostly by the rich has been a feature of pandemics ever since Roman emperors responded to the plague by debasing their currency.
This chart is absolutely bonkers too; ten points if you can find the financial crisis in there:
Even in real time, not knowing what the p(l)andemic would or would not result in, why would you ever think doing this was a good idea?
Trust me, bro, I can catch us when inflation picks up.
Following its historical actions, the Fed might have done much better in 2020-21:
under the long-serving William McChesney Martin, its minutes show that it never even discussed the Asian flu of 1957 or the Hong Kong flu of 1968. Kotok wryly points out that in 1957, “there was no discussion of the Asian flu, but they did discuss President Eisenhower’s health and whether it was affecting the stock market.”
P(l)andemics are not for monetary policy to address—just like inequality, climate threats, black unemployment, or any other talking point you wish to use the powers of the money printer for. Just don't.
I might almost, maybe, possibly consider reading that Kotok book.
non-paywalled here: https://newsletterhunt.com/emails/160341