The Lords of Easy Money: How the Federal Reserve Broke the American Economy

Written by Christopher Leonard

Narrated by Jacques Roy

The New York Times bestseller from business journalist Christopher Leonard infiltrates one of America’s most mysterious institutions—the Federal Reserve—to show how its policies spearheaded by Chairman Jerome Powell over the past ten years have accelerated income inequality and put our country’s economic stability at risk.

If you asked most people what forces led to today’s unprecedented income inequality and financial crashes, no one would say the Federal Reserve. For most of its history, the Fed has enjoyed the fawning adoration of the press. When the economy grew, it was credited to the Fed. When the economy imploded in 2008, the Fed got credit for rescuing us.

But here, for the first time, is the inside story of how the Fed has reshaped the American economy for the worse. It all started on November 3, 2010, when the Fed began a radical intervention called quantitative easing. In just a few short years, the Fed more than quadrupled the money supply with one goal: to encourage banks and other investors to extend more risky debt. Leaders at the Fed knew that they were undertaking a bold experiment that would produce few real jobs, with long-term risks that were hard to measure. But the Fed proceeded anyway…and then found itself trapped. Once it printed all that money, there was no way to withdraw it from circulation. The Fed tried several times, only to see the market start to crash, at which point the Fed turned the money spigot back on. That’s what it did when COVID hit, printing 300 years’ worth of money in a few short months.

Which brings us to now: Ten years on, the gap between the rich and poor has grown dramatically, inflation is raging, and the stock market is driven by boom, busts, and bailouts. Middle-class Americans seem stuck in a stage of permanent stagnation, with wage gains wiped out by high prices even as they remain buried under credit card debt, car loan debt, and student debt. Meanwhile, the “too big to fail” banks remain bigger and more powerful than ever while the richest Americans enjoy the gains of a hyper-charged financial system.

The Lords of Easy Money “skillfully” (The Wall Street Journal) tells the “fascinating” (The New York Times) tale of how quantitative easing is imperiling the American economy through the story of the one man who tried to warn us. This is the first inside story of how we really got here—and why our economy rests on such unstable ground.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
• Release date: Jan 11, 2022
• ISBN: 9781797135540

Christopher Leonard

Christopher Leonard is a business reporter whose work has appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Fortune, and Bloomberg Businessweek. He is the New York Times bestselling author of The Meat Racket and Kochland, which won the J. Anthony Lukas Work-in-Progress Award.

Reviews for The Lords of Easy Money

[Brian Luntz · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Some good points but needlessly marred by unrestrained bias. Post

[Kyle Kinstedt · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Well written book that very clearly breaks down intimidating financial jargon. I hope more people will read to become less intimidated by topics in order to demand better from our politicians.

[Robert Ross · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A fascinating story, told like a murder mystery, brought to life by in Ryanesque style by the personal tales woven into the narrative. What a shame he has no solutions to offer.

[Dillon Evans · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

If you are looking for a book on the Fed, this is the one.

[Joe Ekstein · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Great primer on the inner workings of the Fed and the US monetary system!

[Sandra-Lyn Fox · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

One gets the impression that Leonard's purpose in writing this book was mainly to display his bias against Trump....with little basis to support his allegations. Also felt that he could work on the focus of the book.

Couldn't finish the book.

[krishnanfromrgp · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Glimpse in to the role of Fed & its perceived control of money.

[jezcollier2 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Brilliant and astutely written. Totally accessible and detailed. Messagel: money and the State equals disaster. The for the insight

[Taylor Tucker · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A good look back on the last decade and the Feds role. It's completely hard to fathom how unfair and truly how much the Fed controls the playing field of finances for everyone in America. Almost every boardmember is wealthy and has come close to completely destroying this country several times over. Important book to read