Entitlement programs fulfill the normal human desire to help those who cannot help themselves. But we must always remember that they also impose a penalty on work, because benefits have to be phased out as income rises. It is important to balance benefits granted and costs imposed.

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Analyzing the Global Financial Crisis and Its Aftermath in the United States and the United Kingdom with Kevin Warsh and George Osborne.

Donald Trump wants fewer and later. Jay Powell, chairman of the Fed, more and sooner. He is confident that his plan is what the booming economy needs: raise the Fed’s benchmark interest rate from its current range of 2 percent to 2.25 percent by a quarter of a point in December, and by similar amounts three times during 2019. Those increases would bring the Fed Funds rate to about 3.00 percent, which the Fed considers the neutral rate that would keep the economy growing at a non-inflationary rate.

Regulation of liquidity in over-the-counter markets in fixed income, commodities and currencies is having a profound impact on funding costs. Professor Darrell Duffie explained to delegates at the Fiduciary Investors Symposium at Stanford University how OTC markets are dominated by a small number of dealers affiliated with large banks.