Read on Twitter
Great thread from @GeorgeSelgin on the 13(3) imbroglio. https://twitter.com/georgeselgin/status/1340031364406624260
This 13(3) thread from @BharatRamamurti is also good: https://twitter.com/bharatramamurti/status/1340382408328294402
Senator Toomey’s proposal, I think, amounts to ending the Fed’s ‘credit’ facilities while still preserving its ‘liquidity’ facilities. In an ideal world, we would already have an emergency fiscal facility made for crisis like the present and not need the Fed’s credit facilities.
But that is not the world we live in. Congress has punted on its responsibilities and the Fed has had to step in and take over. Like @GeorgeSelgin, I agree we need a long conversation about how to fix this arrangement. This isn’t it. Pass the relief bill & then we talk reform.
Final note: I highly recommend @LevMenand’s work on this question. He has a great paper that discuses the legal issues surrounding the ‘credit’ facilities versus the ‘liquidity’ facilities. We talked about it on the show: https://www.mercatus.org/bridge/podcasts/05182020/lev-menand-feds-lending-facilities-and-legal-concerns-surrounding-them
Addendum: another good thread providing broader context for the current 13(3) debate from @vtg2 https://twitter.com/vtg2/status/1340338124560494592
