When Martin Feldstein describes the Fed’s monetary policy as “easy,” he means that the Fed has created a lot of money, has made money grow at a fast rate, and has pushed interest rates down. Looking at the graph in Eye on Inflation (p. 316), has money been “easy” during the 2010s? In which decade was it most “easy”?

Robert F. Stauffer, Emeritus Professor of Economics at Roanoke College, Salem, Virginia, argues that the Fed’s monetary policy cannot closely control the price level, and an inflation target can be achieved only by chance. He takes issue with Harvard economist Martin Feldstein, who argues that the Fed’s easy money policy will eventually raise the inflation rate to more than 3 percent.