Corporate Governance: Inflation, The Fed, & Political Power

Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:

Inflation is rising.

The Fed is raising Interest Rates.

Who benefits?

Who is pulling the strings?

To what end?

As a NHTSA employee in the 1970’s under Jimmy Carter I worked to get airbag crash protection into cars.

The Fed back then raised interest rates to 18% by Election Day in 1980 and then raised rates to 21% on Reagan’s Inauguration Day.

Reagan appointed a coal industry lobbyist to head NHTSA who rescinded the airbag rule and cut NHTSA staff by 300 safety workers (33% of the NHTSA staff).  That reduced staffing level remains to this day.

 Two of us asked a statistical analyst to examine the history of Fed Interest rates back to its creation in 1913 to see if there was any political pattern.

He found that in general there was a pattern.  The Fed generally raised interest rates in the last two years when Democrats held the White House and reduced interest rates in the last two years when Republicans held the White House.

It looks like a Political Playbook that is at work today.

See my pro bono article published today by Legal Reader.  See

https://www.legalreader.com/corporate-governance-inflation-the-fed/Lou

Inbox

Corporate Criminality – Climate Crisis 2022

Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:

Having come to Washington in 1965 to work on air pollution control, I still have not lost the desire to help advance the public interest in Clean Air.  See https://www.careforcrashvictims.com/1970s-polution-control-efforts/

I was able to help get the lead out of gasoline and out of children’s blood streams, get catalysts into cars, and octane ratings on gasoline pumps, but global emissions have grown to people and planet threatening levels today.

Legal Reader has kindly published my latest article on a pro bono basis.  See  https://www.legalreader.com/corporate-criminality-climate-crisis-in-2022/

I hope it helps us all with references on environmental harms to us all.

Lou