How the Dollar Became a Double-Edged Sword
Foreign Policy
Review Essay
"As Washington promised not to intervene in the dollar’s value, it increasingly relied on the dollar to intervene in other countries—meaning that for all the domestic imbalances a strong dollar has caused, the power of the dollar may be felt most acutely outside of America."
House of Cards
Review Essay
LA Review of Books
“What began as a convenience became a necessity, so that bankers used credit cards to wrest political power away from consumers and regain the influence they had lost under New Deal regulations. As the banking system consolidated, […] responsibility for consumer credit floated like a piece of gristle in an alphabet soup of regulatory agencies. The Federal Reserve, FDIC, FTC, NCUA, OCC, OTS, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development all nominally had responsibility for the consumer—meaning that, in effect, none of them did.”
Seize Russia’s Assets Before Trump Takes Office
Editorial
Foreign Policy
"The best argument against asset seizure—that it was economically unnecessary—expired with the twin forces of a new U.S. administration uninterested in supporting Ukraine’s defense and Europe’s increasing inability to fund that defense on its own."'
Press: Business Insider
“Hess and Mott argue that more should be done before the White House changes hands. President-elect Trump could withdraw US financial backing for Kyiv, they said, pulling a key pillar of support for the country's fight against Russia.”
How Dictators Make Money—and Money Makes Dictators
Review Essay
Foreign Policy
"After all, currency not only reflects the political order—it actively shapes it.”
Press: The Week
Money can "play a role in creating and shaping democracy," Mott added, and "powerful rulers can use the very same instruments to control the public and consolidate their autocracy."
Capitalists Inside a Communist State
Review Essay
LA Review of Books
"Some recent books examine a private sector still struggling to navigate [China's] mixed economy; the influence Xi hopes to wield over private companies; and how, at a time of contested values, the pursuit of profit may be the only one we still share."
Concrete Dust
Metropolitan Diary
The New York Times
“Sorry, I’m a little dirty,” he said, still smiling. “But I guess that means I’m doing all right, you know? If I’m clean, that means I’m broke. But if I’m dirty, I’m doing all right.”